Hi Bastien,

> I’m all for places where people can freely discuss anything related to
> Org.  There are already many such places: #org-mode and #org-mode-fr
> on IRC, r/org-mode on reddit.com, stackoverflow.com, etc.

Yep, but I do think it’s good to have a few promoted places, ideally based on
FOSS services. Not to start another tangent, but this is one of the reasons why
I think discourse could be a good idea — as a FOSS replacement for reddit,
stackoverflow, etc.

> I don’t want development decisions to be taken in such places—that I
> think we all agree upon.

Sounds like we’re on the same page.

> Based on that, I don’t want a separated IRC channel or a Matrix room
> to be promoted (de facto, by its name) as the place for “contributing
> to Org’s development”: #org-dev or a dedicated Matrix room would sound
> like this to newcomers.  #orgmode is the IM complement of the mailing
> list: a place where Orgers discuss.  On top of that, the ML is the
> place where to suggest patches.

Mmm, it doesn’t have the same role or supplant the ML.

> I think I get your point about categorisation in general, but in this
> case, there is the risk of excluding a category of people (lurkers,
> occasional contributors, etc.) or more precisely: to incidently and
> inadvertently encourage them to self-exclude themselves.

I hear what you’re saying, I’m just not sure how much of an issue this actually
would be. My initial suspicion is with a this issue would be small to
non-existent.

>> With regards to accessibility, I think Matrix is also reaching a rather good
>> point.
>
> Is it possible to lurk in a Matrix room without any login?

With a matrix client you can peek in public rooms without joining them, and
<https://view.matrix.org/room/%21rUhEinythPhVTdddsb:matrix.org/> currently exists.

>> The current state of affairs includes an Emacs client, a host of
>> dedicated apps, in-browser web clients, and more. While the ability to peruse
>> archives has not yet been developed, it is also possible to copy a link to a
>> particular message, and so a conversation can be transferred from Matrix to the
>> ML with a link to the initial conversation, e.g.
>> <https://matrix.to/#/!rUhEinythPhVTdddsb:matrix.org/$1663983705132172ICPRd:matrix.org>
>
> It’s good to be able to connect to Matrix via Emacs: I will try this
> myself soon.

I haven’t tried this myself yet, but it sounds quite promising! I’d be
interested to hear how you find it.

All the best,
Timothy