61 lines
2.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
61 lines
2.1 KiB
ReStructuredText
Synchronous and pseudo-synchronous communications
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=================================================
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Before explaining what tools can be good for OpenStack, we should clarify
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what (pseudo-)synchronous communications mean, and explain the problem with the
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current status-quo.
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Definition
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----------
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The *synchronous* and *pseudo-synchronous* communications are the
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happening between our community members, for which people
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expect a relatively quick answer. The relative notion
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depends on the context. For example, on a idle IRC channel, one might not
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be expected to answer instantly, while instant present is expected during
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synchronous IRC meetings or video conferences.
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The current mechanisms for (pseudo-)synchronous communications are for
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example is OpenDev's meetpad service and our freenode IRC channels.
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The problem
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-----------
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With the community being more distributed, it is probably easier to deal
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with the distribution by relying on more asynchronous tools.
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Yet, our processes and asynchronous tools limitations make us use more
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synchronous communications, which limits the scalability of the community.
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Some people will always feel left alone in the current ways.
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Next to this, IRC seems alien to the "new generation of developers", which
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prefer *Slack* or *Matrix*: Those record conversations when you are
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disconnected for example.
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The proposal
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------------
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I propose to move our IRC communication by moving to `matrix`_ (and optionally
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a front-end/web client, like *Element*).
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I believe using it would increase attractiveness of our synchronous
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communications. Additionally, this could integrate well with a more
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modern asynchronous tooling like `Discourse`_.
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Mozilla has also chosen `matrix`_.
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People using IRC could easily adopt matrix, as a IRC bridge exists.
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For new joiners, a web interface would be a welcomed change,
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as communication can be done from the browser, like *Slack*.
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Downsides
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---------
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This is a disruptive change, like for the asynchronous communications.
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This could lead to a split in the community, for people not wanting to change.
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https://xkcd.com/1782/
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.. _matrix: https://matrix.org/
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.. _Discourse: https://www.discourse.org/
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