I agree Slack can be used by Beam users and it would be good to meet users where they are. If I understand correctly, the issue Pablo is raising is that there are not enough people online in Slack that can answer python questions. We also need to help people who ask questions and who can answer them find a common platform. Perhaps simply adding a subject in Slack chat rooms suggesting SO as an alternative question asking platform might improve the situation.
On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 5:45 PM Austin Bennett <whatwouldausti...@gmail.com> wrote: > I see no reason slack can't be suitable for Beam users -- other open > source projects do utilize Slack for user chatter, too. Though what it > could be is different from how currently used. There are 173 accounts in > #beam-python, and a decent portion of recent conversations (at quick > glance) look like they are users asking for advice (which maybe should be > pointed to the Google Cloud Slack account...) > > I suggest meet users wherever they are (don't abandon slack), but that is > from a community standpoint. If people are metrics focused, that might be > harder in slack and/or we can find ways to measure things for those that > have benchmarks to hit. I am willing to dig into Slack's API if desired, > to surface/forward messages as useful. Not sure how all that would look, > open to figure it out. > > > > On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 4:47 PM Ahmet Altay <al...@google.com> wrote: > >> Both StackOverflow and mailing lists have better answer rates for python >> questions. Suggesting either one of them makes sense. I also find >> StackOverflow easier to use but that is a personal preference. The >> original problem is that lack of support within Slack. Both mailing list >> and stackoverflow are already listed in the support page above Slack. How >> are we going to redirect these folks from Slack to SO or ML? >> >> Also, what is the profile of people on slack in general. I had the >> impression that it is more tuned for developer working on Beam to interact >> rather than for users to ask Beam questions. Is this accurate? >> >> Ahmet >> >> On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 4:41 PM Kenneth Knowles <k...@apache.org> wrote: >> >>> +1 to StackOverflow first, though I'm not important for Beam Python >>> users. Udi has a good point about discussions. If an SO question has a lot >>> of back and forth, or no response, then it is good to point to other >>> channels the user might try next. >>> >>> Kenn >>> >>> On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 2:20 PM Robert Bradshaw <rober...@google.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> 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 >>>> >>>
