Chat server ideas and preferences?

[jonbartels]

NextGen has run the Mirth Slack server for a while. It is largely left unmoderated. There is limited message retention. There is limited moderation (though it is rarely needed, occasional spammers)

Loyd @ Innovar has created a Slack server - https://join.slack.com/t/bridgelink01/shared_invite/zt-31hr4l0s6-7yHkcyDtv0tAXmySVaR1HQ

A dedicated community member has turned over administration of the Discord server to a few trusted community members - https://discord.gg/kVWSGMa7

A few other members have expressed interest in a federated chat, like Matrix, to really make this a community effort.

My goals are:

1. Avoid balkanization - Mirth is a strong community. Having multiple chat servers, forums, etc. dilutes information and stretches volunteers and sponsors thin
2. Neutral - Corporate sponsors for mirth are necessary. It is business software and will inherently involve for-profit corporate interests. This is good! What balance should we have for who owns chat servers? Especially since at some point there will be per-server or per-user costs. This is also important for moderation, I think Mirth chats and projects should be neutral spaces.
3. Retain history - The chats solve problems fast and with a lot of context. These are rarely copied over to more persistent, searchable places like GH Discussions or Forums.
4. Etiquitte - https://forums.mirthproject.io/articles/177082-forum-etiquette is a good guide and should continue to apply

[lbittle]

Slack is problematic as it is extremely expensive in a useful form. I have not used other platforms but there is an issue with the 2600 users that are on the existing Mirth Connect channel and getting those successfully migrated. Otherwise, if we jump we leave them orphaned and that is not good. Discord seems like a good option. Slack seems like a temporary solution insuring against the communication lines getting cut as NG owns the channel.

[lbittle]

Also, what about the forum software that Mirth originally used: https://www.vbulletin.com/en/purchases

[joshmc82]

I like the idea of Matrix as a federated model but we'd need more than 1 server out there. If Innovar sponsored a server and at least one other community member, then that could be successful. Message retention is critical IMO.

[kpalang]

I'd say getting Matrix up is quite critical. It needs to happen before people start migrating from.NG slack en masse.

BrightCodeCompany is still interested in hosting a homeserver.

[pacmano1]

I can support a server for Matrix, but the project need to be clear on terms and conditions for usage. There are probably a bunch of other legal things not quite set up for this project as well.

[gmartelly]

Campfire might be a good fit — it has a one-time cost, can be self-hosted, and offers a Slack-like interface.