Julia Evans

what community spaces are you using on the internet these days to talk about programming?

(mastodon/twitter? tiktok? discord? stack overflow? mailing lists? hn/reddit? just private group chats? wikis? something else?)

I'm writing a talk and I'm trying to think about how we share information as a community

Jul 25, 2023 at 1:09amWeb
Show threadAthena L.M.Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk My preference is my blog but mostly here on the fedi verse.
Show threadJay Wren ☯️♌️☢️☣️🚯🚭🆙🆖Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk the gophers slack
Show threadHécateJul 25, 2023
@b0rk I hang out on precisely 2 Discord servers for functional programming & Haskell, and a shitload of IRC channels
Show threadCyber YukiJul 25, 2023

@b0rk I mostly stopped talking about programming online, so... 😅

I still read occasional memes on LinkedIn and the job's discord in some meme / offtopic channel.

But the interesting stuff? New algorithms? Cracking an old retro program? Solving a hard networking problem? I find all of that on Mastodon.

EDIT: I mean, I used to talk about programming on reddit, but that was in reddit's golden age, way before the new reddit and before Steve Huffman turned it into garbage.

Show threadChris FerdinandiJul 25, 2023
@b0rk mastodon mostly, and a few discords. I miss Twitter TBH
Show threadalcinnzJul 25, 2023

@b0rk Blogs mostly, but the fediverse is pretty good too!

I guess asking on the fediverse biases results...

Show threadRon WolfJul 25, 2023
@alcinnz @b0rk Without having checked, I’m assuming Julia posted this on multiple platforms.
Show threadMaggie ZhouJul 25, 2023
@b0rk infinity private group chats :/
Show threadJulia EvansJul 25, 2023
@zmagg so real
Show threadPohl LongsineJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Only a few unidirectional toots into the void here & there.
Show threadDoug WadeJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Lemmy, mastodon, discord, podcasts, and an RSS feed of blogs, in approximately that order
Show threadAlan SillJul 25, 2023
@b0rk We have a healthy set of these for #HPC on https://hpc.social ranging across several platforms, as well as blogs, podcasts, and a jobs board, with most of these run on open source tools that are open to improvement!
Welcome to HPC.social!

A welcome to our high performance computing community!

HPC.social
Show threadPeter Drake HAS MOVEDJul 25, 2023

@b0rk Mastodon FTW!

Discord is useless because of the low odds that someone with something relevant to say is online exactly when you post.

I left Twitter the day Elon bought it, and it appears to have gone downhill rapidly. Facebook is even worse.

I've never done TikTok.

Stack Overflow? Often there are good answers there, but it's also a bit:

https://xkcd.com/979/

I do use a mailing list (SIGCSE) to discuss computer science *education*.

Wisdom of the Ancients

xkcd
Show threadJason Miller 🦊⚛️Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk work slack channels sadly
Show threadIvan Sagalaev Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk lobste.rs
Show threadMichael SokolovJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Lucene devs talk in email, GitHub issues and pull requests, and to a lesser extent slack. All publicly accessible with signups
Show threadDoofus CanadensisJul 25, 2023

@b0rk mostly mastodon, irc, and sometimes matrix

the problem with the latter is too often rooms bridge in irc and/or discord channels and things get weird

Show threadbignoseJul 25, 2023

@b0rk

It's disconcerting to me how many are using Discord. Which effectively locks me out because I'm not going to create any valuable community in a walled garden only to see it all get ripped away as usual.

So: Mastodon, Stack Overflow (which is a privately held corporation but all the content is deliberately #FreeCulture), email lists, IRC groups.

Show threadBen ZaninJul 25, 2023
@b0rk IRC (libera), Mastodon/fediverse, a few private Slack and Discords
Show threadDavid ZaslavskyJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mastodon and Github for me. I used to be pretty active on Stack Overflow but that experience has kind of gone downhill IMO. (It's still a great reference, it's just the experience of participating that is not what it used to be)
Show threadednl 🇪🇺Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk I go to https://www.reddit.com/r/adventofcode/ for chatter and https://www.reddit.com/r/C_Programming/ for ideas/questions/getting better. I really dislike platforms with downvotes, though, so I never stay long. Haven't found comparable venues elsewhere.
Advent of Code • r/adventofcode

Advent of Code is an annual Advent calendar of small programming puzzles for a variety of skill sets and skill levels that can be solved in any...

reddit
Show threadchrisJul 25, 2023
@b0rk I’m mostly mastodon/twitter, but also HN. I know a lot happens on discord/matrix etc but I can’t keep up with those very well.
Show thread∴ esoterik ∴Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk i’m on here, in a few irc channels, on a few mailing lists, and have a few signal group chats. there are discord servers i’ve been invited to but mostly i don’t check them.
Show threadMatthew McPherrinJul 25, 2023
@b0rk almost entirely private slacks / discord with friends, current and past coworkers. A few public slacks/zulip/etc, and a bit of Reddit and mastodon
Show threadJoel Wirāmu, PaulingJul 25, 2023

@b0rk

@passthejoe

Gitea/gitlab gists and issue/bug trackers

Show threadwakejagrJul 25, 2023
@b0rk I talk on Mastodon and IRC (libera chat). I also use Stack Overflow, arch linux wiki, and lots of project documentation, but read-only.
Show threadVicki BoykisJul 25, 2023
@b0rk all of the above? 😭. My community is so fragmented now and it feels super unstable, I’m not sure it will ever go back to what it was. a little twitter to check DMs, Mastodon to read actual programming content, Bluesky to see if there is any content yet, HN still for links, group chats to reflect on the insanity, feeling very unmoored
Show threadJohn MayJul 25, 2023
@vicki @b0rk No Threads? "To check on my Brands™️" 😂
Show threadJulia EvansJul 25, 2023
@vicki it’s too muchhhh
Show threadFrancis 🏴‍☠️ GulottaJul 25, 2023
@vicki @b0rk I'm honestly unsure if I should move instances or have multiple mastodon accounts to get a stronger community, I can't tell if it matters if I'm not browsing the local feed.
Show threadgobborgJul 25, 2023
@vicki @b0rk well said.
Show threadBrandon RohrerJul 25, 2023
@vicki @b0rk zeitgeist captured
Show threadKevin Boyd (he/him) 🇨🇦Jul 25, 2023

@b0rk mastodon, slack (local tech association has a slack, plus I'm on the Symfony framework slack), discord (php community discord)

However I'm much more idle than I should be. A consequence of being utterly exhausted for a decade.

Show threadJeff LJul 25, 2023
@b0rk the Lemmy instance programming.dev
Show threadKartik AgaramJul 25, 2023
@b0rk https://merveilles.town/@akkartik/109594206426331027
Show threadJohn de LargentayeJul 25, 2023

@b0rk HN, I'm afraid. "It's the worst, except for all the other ones".

Then again, I've never found a space I was happy with. Today I stumbled upon a quote from Alan Kay ~ "programming is pop culture" and it helps explain the lack of constructive discussion.

Perhaps I should check lobste.rs.

Show threadJared BrothersJul 25, 2023
@b0rk "Lambda The Ultimate" was the "Crooked Timber" for programming. An erudite moderated group blog fomenting arguments between people building their own programming languages.
Show threadRommelRicoJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mastodon, TikTok, Discord, GitHub, and Dev.to.
Show threadalexJul 25, 2023
@b0rk @hackclub is pretty cool, I hang out in their slack for teenage coders
Show threadJulia EvansJul 25, 2023
@alex @hackclub that’s awesome, everyone i’ve met involved with hack club has been really cool
Show threadNicolas Ward Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mastodon, channels in two non-programming Discords, a Slack of former computer club members, and very rarely a mailing list that's been around for over 20 years.
Show threadvga256Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk discord, sadly. one of the worst possible places for it in terms of usability, findability, storability, pastability - but it just happens to be the one place where my coder compatriots hang out :|
Show threadSeanJul 25, 2023
@b0rk mostly the Recurse Centre's Zulip. I've left behind so many places. I just have less to talk about these days!
Show threadbrennenJul 25, 2023
@b0rk irc (libera mostly for work and open source contexts, small-time private servers to talk amongst friends); masto, a few private group chats. i hate-read HN more than i want to. i check lobste.rs maybe once a month but have pretty well given up commenting there.
Show threadViiriJul 25, 2023
@b0rk it’s 99% Discord for me right now
Show threadLohan GunaweeraJul 25, 2023
@b0rk IRC.

I am not a programmer. But I sometimes need to resolve issues that require programming knowledge. IRC (primarily libera, IRCNow and a couple of other networks) is where I go and ask/talk.
Show threadJ3RN  Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mostly here on Fedi, but I also blog and occasionally talk shop in Discord.
Show thread: j@fabrica:~/src;  Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk I keep wanting to make short form video, getting close… then not wanting to support TikTok and not wanting to use the much less active networks.
Show threadTito CiuroJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mastodon and Discord.
Show threadDrew 🐘Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk I still get a lot of mileage out of IRC. I begrudgingly use Discord for some rust-related communities like the Bevy game engine. I've used Element/Matrix for GTK help. Some private Signal and Slack group chats.
Show threadnioradJul 25, 2023
@b0rk discord only
Show threadLu WilsonJul 25, 2023

@b0rk Future of Coding slack!

https://futureofcoding.org/community

Community

Are you looking for the real computer revolution? Join the club! Future of Coding is a podcast and community of toolmakers, researchers, and creators working together to reimagine computing.

Future of Coding
Show threadAstraLuma Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk fedi and discord
Show thread🇺🇦 Myke  Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk telegram groups
Show threadBoyd Stephen Smith Jr.Jul 25, 2023
@b0rk You find a good place, let me know. Mastodon isn't it -- both the app and the website don't thread things correctly. Discourse is similarly broken, and fragmented rather than federated. I'm thinking maybe kbin or lemmy, but I'd really like to use my existing Fediverse profile/account/identity/credentials, if I'm going to do something on the Fediverse.
Show threadNils BallmannJul 25, 2023
@b0rk in the corporate world there is Yammer/Viva Engage, but also just plain public and internal Gitlab or GitHub (Enterprise).
Show threadPaolo AmorosoJul 25, 2023
@b0rk Mastodon and Lemmy.
Show threadAlex (moved to @alexmu@mastod)Jul 25, 2023
@amoroso @b0rk ditto