Should we use a online tool for general project discussions?

[ahcvankampen]

One other aspects relates to general project discussions. Currently, the LabJournal.docx can be used for this. However, perhaps a cloud-based system is more suited. An important requirement, however, is that all information can be syncrhonized with or downloaded to the ENCORE project at the moment of sharing/archiving.

If we use a more flexible platform, then we might also be able to more easily distinguished between information that we must share and information that cannot be shared, e.g., confidential information, patient information.

Often, projects are discussed over email but then important information may get lost and it potentially becomes very unstructured and not accessible by parties to which we share a project. Also not easily downloaded in a structured way to the ENCORE project.

[ahcvankampen]

GitHub 'Discussions'
GitHub Discussions is a platform to share information, ask questions, or have discussions. It is possible to attach documents to the discussion but is less suited for large files. A ‘Discussion’ is linked to a specific repository but is not part of the repository and, therefore, cannot be synchronized with the repository. Currently, the Discussions also cannot be exported. Consequently, it is not in agreement with the first ENCORE requirement (self-contained project compendium). However, Discussions has clear advantages. Project members can easily engage in project/software discussions that can be organized in different sections and threads. Discussions can be linked to GitHub Issues. However, we believe it is better to have all documentation within the sFSS and close to the files (e.g., data, results, etc) it is documenting, which is more difficult to achieve with a separate (cloud-based) forum. Currently, many of our ENCORE projects are hosted on the computers of the project members and synchronized to a cloud system (e.g., Dropbox, SURFdrive), making them accessible to all project members. While they can use the LabJournal.docx or other files to engage in discussions, this method is admittedly less convenient. However, a project team may decide to use a cloud-based system for project discussions. For example, something simple like Google would be useful and also allows to download Discussions to the ENCORE project at the moment of sharing or archiving.

Documentation: https://docs.github.com/en/discussions