Switching to Discord

We’re switching to Discord.

Documenso is an open-source DocuSign alternative, built with community and transparency in mind.

So, when we started working on the project, we quickly set up a Slack workspace to start engaging with community members.

As the community grows (reached 2K stars on GitHub and 100 community members on Slack), we felt the need to set up a more community-friendly environment.

The Documenso team is growing, too. Lucas joined Timur, then Ephraim and David recently joined the journey. We want to stay in touch with the community as much as possible and avoid context-switching to focus on work, support, and fun.

We’re an open-source project and focus on building a great developer experience. So, when we thought of a Slack replacement, community and developer-friendly, Discord was an obvious choice — not to mention that it would help us keep up with OSS friends, too.

So, we’re switching all conversations, team and community-wide, to Discord.

In this post, we won’t debate _why_ we’re switching — Slack vs. Discord is a long-lasting debate with pros and cons, and fans on both sides. There are great stories and threads on the topic. We just don’t want to write yet another story here.

Instead, we’ll focus on how we plan to make the switch.

Who is this story for?

First, we wrote this post for the team so we’re ready for the switch. Then we post it online because we value transparency and thought it might help the community.

For community members, this story would help you understand how we plan to make the switch and give you the guidance to fully embrace the new experience.

For founders and makers who would like to switch too, in one way or another, this story would help you handle the transition with a detailed guide.

Switching to Discord

We’re switching to Discord, step by step. First, we’re moving team conversations, then we’re moving the community with a 15-day buffering.

The detailed plan goes like this:

• 2023-07-25 `t=0`: Timur starts setting up the Discord server and sends invites to the team.

• 2023-07-26 `t+1`: The team switches to Discord. The objective is to get used to the product and to customize it to feel at homddde and, when we’re ready to welcome the community, to make new members feel at home, too.

• 2023-08-02 `t+8`: We announce to the community the upcoming changes in the different channels — GitHub, Twitter, and Slack.

• GitHub

  • Create new Pull Request

    • Add story to the blog

    • Update link to the community

    
    

  • Start a new Discussion

    Happy Wednesday!
      
    TL,DR: We’re switching to Discord. [Join the fun!](https://documen.so/discord)
    
    

    
    

• Twitter

  • Tweet the announcement - https://twitter.com/documenso/status/1686719482096766977

  • Pin Tweet

  • Update link in bio

  
  

• Slack

  • Post message in `#general`

    Happy Wednesday!
    
    TL,DR: We’re switching to Discord. [Join the fun!](https://documen.so/discord)
    
    We want to build a beautiful, open-source DocuSign alternative. As we're growing (reached 2.3K Stars), we feel the need to have a more community- and developer-friendly environment to share ideas, support, and memes.
    
    Make sure to [join the server](https://documen.so/discord)
    
    

  • Pin post

  • Set topic and description

  • Archive channels: `#code-review` `#how-to` `#meet-and-greet` `#random-memes` `#self-hosting` `#support`

• 2023-08-09 `t+15`: 7 days later, we send a reminder on Slack.

  • Slack

    • Schedule reminder in `#general`

• 2023-08-16 `t+22`: 15 days later, we’re making the final edits to the Slack workspace.

  • Slack

    • Edit posting permissions in `#general`

  • Disconnect Slack

Final thoughts

• We’re at the very, early stage on our journey to building a beautiful, open-source DocuSign alternative. We want to build a great developer experience with the open-source community and, switching to Discord, we want to set up the foundations of an open, safe place for community members to get in touch, brainstorm ideas, and have fun.

• It doesn’t mean we won’t ever switch back to Slack. The tools of today aren’t the ones of tomorrow. We don’t delete the Slack workspace, we archive it, and keep the `documenso` handle. May it be just an au revoir?

• For now, we’re pushing forward and are eager to welcome you on Discord. Make sure to join the server in order to keep up to date on all things Documenso. See you there!