Am I just a cranky old man for preferring mail lists and dreading using Slack or IRC? They're ok for totally ephemeral "gotta do this thing right now" stuff, but I hate when actual substantive discussions or decisions for projects are made on those channels.

On August 22, 2018 10:08:04 AM PDT, Jim Houston <jim.houston@...> wrote:

On Aug 22, 2018, at 9:04 AM, Sean Cooper <sean@...> wrote:

Example IRC Log: https://lists.ffmpeg.org/pipermail/ffmpeg-devel-irc/2017-September/004551.html

I think you just proved that threading is a must :-)

I agree though, an option to join a channel without signing up would be great.

+1

A consistent approach among projects would be great.   I think it is difficult though to use a new startup’s tool

because they are still chasing a business model.  What features will still be present and/or advancing and which

go by the wayside.  

For a project started in 2004, I found it very useful at times to have the history of the project and 

sample images that were used still available.  It is a significant nuisance when past e-mail/posts point to dead links

because of a change in the collaboration tool.  This is true as well in SMPTE’s Kavi (higher logic) where reorganizations

have wiped clean previous threads.  Although working in the moment on current topics is important for collaboration,

I would also suggest the benefits of long-term learning from past decisions can be useful.

Especially in software projects where it seems that every decade or so, there is a significant throwing out of previous efforts

sometimes ignoring the benefits of tested and working codes.  (acknowledging that sometimes spaghetti just has to GO )

Jim Houston

--
Larry Gritz
lg@...