Collecting requirements for a KDE-wide instant messaging solution (was: Re: radical proposal: move IRC to Rocket.Chat)

[Martin Klapetek]

On Wed, Aug 9, 2017 at 2:51 PM, Christian Loosli <kde at fuchsnet.ch> wrote:

> Okay, this is more and more drifting away from being remotely productive or
> helpful, but as I provided a working solution on top level, I feel free to
> tacke a few points that are, in my opinion, odd at best.
>
> First let's tackle that mysterious group of < 20 year olds:
>
> > > Is there any such organization at all?
> >
> > Sure there is! Look at the tech startup scene, or the games industry.
> > But okay, let’s say “predominantly younger than 30” to make it an easier
> > task.
>
> But KDE is not a tech startup. As people correctly wrote, KDE has a very
> long
> history and contributors of all age. I'd rather be that than one of the
> many
> tech startups with a bunch of little to no experience but fancy new chat
> systems, to be honest.  Do we really want and need to cater these mystical
> tweens so much?


Yes. Old contributors will slowly fade away for various
reasons, be it life, be it lack of energy, be it other commitments.
Who's going to pick all those projects up after them? I'd like
to think that young enthusiasts with lots of energy and potential,
exactly what those heroes starting the original KDE were.
And I think we should strive to attract younger talent that can
be in it for the long run.


> Are they the holy grail that saves KDE and worth alienating
> the people who are not this particular group?
>

It's not mutually exclusive.


> Even if that is the case, to answer your question:  Yes, there are such
> companies, plenty even. Basically a lot of companies which are exactly not
> in
> the small bubble that is  "tech start up", but other industries. Also
> companies that actually have to do business with other companies, where
> mail
> simply still is the standard.
>
>
> Then, on the subject of emojis, stickers or even the protocol used being so
> important:
>
> Let's see what others do. Let's take our main, most famous friendly
> competitor
> GNOME. They even run their very own IRC network still, and actively code
> new
> IRC applications.
> Mozilla? Own IRC network.
> Reddit, quite the place for young techies and startup? Created their own
> IRC
> network. Hardly turning off or away people, it seems. If we fail to attract
> fresh blood, then maybe the problem is not actually "we use IRC".
>
> But even if it would: to be honest, if someone decides what project they
> want
> to contribute due based on what chat protocol they use internally, I'm
> personally not sure if that is a well suited candidate due to rather odd
> priorities.
>

I think your view is a different angle - it's not that they would
choose a project to contribute to based on what chat they use, but
they would choose a project they feel most comfortable in. And yes
day to day communication does make a big part of that comfort. No
matter how you look at it, IRC /is/ behind any other IM apps/protocols
today. Young engineers communicate and prefer to communicate
differently than you or me. I think it's absolutely crucial to understand
them and their views/ways/whatever. Neglecting them would be a mistake.

Cheers
--
Martin Klapetek
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