Proposal: retire IRC

Django Internals
1

We mention #django IRC channels in the Django docs and in various places on the Django website (such as in the footer, coc page, coc faq page).

We also have a step in our Django release process (see step 11) to update a topic in #django IRC.

My experience of #django IRC is that it is very very quiet.
I don’t think it should be so prominent in our docs/website as an official place for folks to go.
I also don’t think it should be part of the process for promoting that there is a new version of Django released.

I propose we remove almost all references to IRC. I would perhaps keep IRC in the “More help” sidebar of the community page, similar to StackOverflow and Reddit, and remove the rest.

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Django Fellow Report - Sarah - 2024
2

+1 from me. I enjoyed IRC but left it like 4 years ago because it was already so quiet. I think the forum is a much better tool, especially since topics are public and discoverable on the web.

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3

+1 from me too.

I like your proposal of keeping it mentionned in a few places but decreasing its overall importance. I think it’s good that our documentation and website reflect where our contributors are, and that’s not on IRC anymore.

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4

Yeah, that sounds totally reasonable. (Makes me sad, but whatever, that ship has sailed.)

5

I’m also +1, as a Django user and developer but also as a Fellow, it’s one less step when doing releases :partying_face:

6

Thank you all :+1:

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7

I wonder about #django-dev. There are currently 14 members, and I haven’t seen anything useful there in months. Have these discussions moved to Discord as well?

8

There are discussions on Django development in the Django Discord channels #contributor-discussion and #contributing-getting-started

Recent screenshot of the channel (within the community section)

The Django Discord - #contributor-discussions screenshot
The Django Discord - #contributor-discussions screenshot1043×907 140 KB

If you join the Discord, I recommend muting channels that you’re not interested in and adjusting your notification settings :+1:

9

Revisiting this thread in light of the recent developments around Discord, I’m starting to wonder whether we should look at this decision again.

At the time, consolidating around Discord made sense. But the platform is clearly moving toward stronger age verification and identity requirements, and that will inevitably exclude some people. Some contributors will not be able to comply, and others simply won’t feel comfortable doing so.

Our Diversity Statement says that accessibility is a priority, not an afterthought. If access to our main community space depends on identity checks or biometric-style verification, that becomes more than just a tooling choice.

IRC may be old-fashioned, but it is open, decentralized, and does not require identity verification. Perhaps restoring it as an additional access point would better reflect our commitment to broad and safe participation, without undoing the original goal of simplification.

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