In recent days, we (Matrix contributors @ ashfame , @ psrpinto , and myself) have been closely evaluating and engaging with testing, feedback, and discussions stemming from this recent post about the transition to Matrix by the end of the year.
First, I would like to acknowledge the great work Matrix and WordPress contributors did this past year. The explorations and progress made have been admirable, and I appreciate all the community collaboration and participation in testing and providing valuable questions and feedback.
As you may have heard during yesterday’s State of the Word Q&A , the migration Moving the code, database and media files for a website site from one server to another. Most typically done when changing hosting companies. from Slack Slack is a Collaborative Group Chat Platform https://slack.com/ . The WordPress community has its own Slack Channel at https://make.wordpress.org/chat/ . to Matrix is being put on hold after careful consideration . Several factors, as mentioned by Matt , have contributed to this decision:
We, both Matrix contributors and project leadership, have listened and taken into account the concerns shared regarding accessibility Accessibility (commonly shortened to a11y) refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s assistive technology (for example, computer screen readers). ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Accessibility ) and usability. While significant progress and efforts have been made to address issues during the past few weeks, especially around accessibility , we understand that the current experience provided by Matrix clients is not yet where the WordPress project and community expect for their communication and collaborative needs.
On the other hand, we are concerned about the recent developments and license changes announced in the Matrix ecosystem . WordPress prioritizes tools and platforms that align with the project’s principles and values, and this includes considerations around licensing implications when it comes to choosing or contributing to software. In this case, the switch to the Affero General Public License (AGPL) and the requirement of signing a Contributor License Agreement (CLA) to contribute.
This decision allows for reassessing the current situation and ensuring that any transition aligns with WordPress’ standards.
Moving forward
As a result, Slack will remain the primary chat platform for the WordPress community, with no changes expected by the end of the year.
We found that the Slack-Matrix bridge and integrations, such as Chatrix , are still valuable for contributors and will keep working. This allows for flexibility and the continued use of the achievements made so far, especially to help onboard new contributors. We encourage Make teams to further explore and take advantage of all the opportunities that Make team chat pages have to offer.
Thank you for your support and understanding while we navigated to this decision. If you have any further thoughts or questions, please share them in the comments.
