Stream: community

Topic: When to use Google Groups & when to use Zulip?

Sherry Lake (Oct 17 2024 at 13:25):

Does Dataverse folks
prefer to ask questions here on Zulip?
Or Goggle groups?
And there is also Slack? :shrug:

Where do you look if the Community needs help?

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 17 2024 at 13:52):

I don't like Slack for open source because the answers are not public. My preference is to build a knowledge base of answers in public places like Zulip or Google Groups.

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 17 2024 at 13:53):

When I asked the community "Is anyone using the rsync feature?" I posted on Google Groups because I figured it would reach more people.

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 17 2024 at 13:54):

As of this writing Google Groups has 1047 members and Zulip has 211.

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 17 2024 at 19:29):

If there's a dedicated channel in Zulip like #containers or #docs or #python I'll use that.

Dieuwertje Bloemen (Oct 24 2024 at 09:02):

I tend to drop larger stuff in Google Groups, like announcements etc. or broader questions, while topic-specific smaller stuff I tend to ask or drop in Zulip (especially smaller questions).
I think they can co-exist, especially with Google Groups acting as a less intimidating area perhaps, because Zulip can be a bit overwhelming if you're not fully "in" it, I feel like.

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 24 2024 at 09:40):

Dieuwertje Bloemen said:

Zulip can be a bit overwhelming if you're not fully "in" it

Would it help to unsubscribe from noisy channels in Zulip? I'm thinking that #containers or #python may not be of interest to everyone, for example.

Zulip also has an "inbox" view that I use for https://chat.zulip.org (where they talk about Zulip itself). It helps me scan through unread messages and only catch up on what I care about. See https://zulip.com/help/inbox and https://zulip.com/help/reading-strategies

Dieuwertje Bloemen (Oct 25 2024 at 15:33):

I already use the unsubscribe stuff. I think this information on how to use an inbox and how to unsubscribe would be really useful to pin somewhere for new Zulip users to easily find. (not sure if that's possible though :shrug: )

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 25 2024 at 15:59):

Yeah, maybe we can start a couple new topics in #zulip:

• how to avoid feeling overwhelmed (it's part of the Zulip pitch that it's better than Slack in this regard)
• where to pin useful links and information (I'm not sure)

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Oct 25 2024 at 16:00):

On the topic of Google Groups vs. Slack, I try to cover it a bit in some new slides I'm working on, that I mentioned over in #zulip > intro to Zulip slides

Philip Durbin 🚀 (Nov 01 2024 at 15:04):

Announcements such as a "save the date" for the next community meeting are better posted to the Google Group. We do have #community > #Dataverse2025 but I'm glad an email just went out.

Last updated: Nov 01 2025 at 14:11 UTC