Communicating: Where are we? about fossrit.github.io HOT 8 CLOSED

sometimes via a matrix bridge too, right? Me too. Specifically, via an account on, and a connection to, the home server run by the protocol's lead developers at matrix.org. I use the cross-platform app found at riot.im/app on which they also lead development. I'm using matrix/riot to participate in the IRC channel. I also participate in the IRC channel via the IRC client irssi, running in the terminal multiplexer tmux, hosted on a persistently Internet-connected virtual private server (VPS) to which I connect via SSH. This is a common pattern for participating in IRC but imposes pretty severe demands for a newcomer. Ths pattern offers many options (IRC client options, SSH client options, whether and how much to self-host or to use 3rd party hosts and services, to run stand-alone services or to federate, whether or not to use bouncers and how to configure them, whether to use VPS or a shared shell host as some of the things that spring to mind). Power users often delight in customizing at least some components within the stack to suit their purposes, but ultimately some consensus is required for it all to work together. As with many complex toolchains, I think the biggest determinant as to whether it ends up being exclusionary versus being an aspirational goal for newcomers is in how welcome we are with encouragement and support for those who try to operate this way. Conversations like this one, exploring and documenting what we do, work to that latter goal. With appropriate choice of software, using IRC or Matrix either separately or in conjunction can be end-to-end free. That is, one can choose free and open source software for all of it: Servers, clients, and any supporting infrastructure. Unfortunately, this is not true for Telegram (the server has not been freed) nor for many other things that otherwise would be options (eg, Slack, Gitter, or myriad other social media platforms relying either in part or in whole on proprietary software stacks). We should continue to welcome interested people via the freenode-supplied IRC web client at http://webchat.freenode.net/?&channels=rit-foss We may also find the mobile experience offered by a Matrix bridge to be more "sticky", leading to better longer-term engagement since it more closely matches how people stay in touch these days. Matrix take-up has been modest, but as with all things its a question of how to build up to and maintain critical mass. I've been late to the game. Much thanks to jflory and nolski for leading the way with Matrix. One thing I've been meaning to do is to try to figure out how to document and give notice of the fact that the Matrix integration (and probably the Telegram integration) leads to there being a de facto public log of the channel. Some IRC channels are logged, some aren't, but it's a widely-respected norm that channels that publically log traffic to the channel should inform participants of such fact, so that each person can moderate their behavior as they feel appropriate for a public venue. For now, I might drop a link to this issue into the #rit-foss topic.