I would also suggest SO as the best alternative, especially due to its indexability and searchability. If discussion is needed, the users list (my preference) or slack can be good options, and ideally the resolution is brought back to SO.
On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 1:10 PM Udi Meiri <eh...@google.com> wrote: > > I don't go on Slack, but I will be notified of mentions. It has the advantage > of being an informal space. > SO can feel just as intimidating as the mailing list IMO. Unlike the others, > it doesn't lend itself very well to discussions (you can only post comments > or answers). > > > > On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 10:55 AM Pablo Estrada <pabl...@google.com> wrote: >> >> Hello all, >> >> THE SITUATION: >> It was brought to my attention recently that Python users in Slack are not >> getting much support, because most of the Beam Python-knowledgeable people >> are not on Slack. Unfortunately, in the Beam site, we do refer people to >> Slack for assistance[1]. >> >> Java users do receive reasonable support, because there are enough Beam >> Java-knowledgeable people online, and willing to answer. >> >> On the other hand, at Google we do have a number of people who are >> responsible to answer questions on StackOverflow[2], and we do our best to >> answer promptly. I think we do a reasonable job overall. >> >> SO LET'S DISCUSS: >> How should we advise the community to ask questions about Beam? >> - Perhaps we should encourage people to try the mailing list first >> - Perhaps we should encourage people to try StackOverflow first >> - Perhaps we should write a bot that encourages Python users to go to >> StackOverflow >> - something else? >> >> My personal opinion is that a mailing list is not great: It's intimidating, >> it does not provide great indexing or searchability. >> >> WHAT I PROPOSE: >> >> I think explicitly encouraging everyone to go to StackOverflow first will be >> the best alternative: It's indexed, searchable, less intimidating than the >> mailing list. We can add that they can try Slack as well - without any >> guarantees. >> >> What do others think? >> -P. >> >> [1] https://beam.apache.org/community/contact-us/ >> [2] https://stackoverflow.com/questions/tagged/apache-beam?tab=Newest
