Project:Requests for permissions/RfC/Bridge MediaWiki IRC and Discord

Bridge MediaWiki IRC and Discord[edit]

Right now, we have a handful of MediaWiki-related channels on IRC. This RfC focuses specifically on the #mediawiki channel. The #mediawiki channel is currently being bridged to the #mediawiki:matrix.org room on Matrix. I would like to additionally bridge the IRC channel to the (unofficial) MediaWiki Discord server.

I feel there would be a number of benefits to the community for doing so. The Discord server currently has over 1,000 members and fairly active support channels. A bridge would allow people who use Discord as their primary means of giving support to see queries made on Matrix or IRC and respond to them, and allow people who use Discord as their primary means of receiving support to benefit from responses from the more technical-minded people who eschew Discord but are present on IRC or Matrix. The additional activity through the bridge would also allow people joining the IRC channel or Matrix room to see activity, making them feel more comfortable that their questions will not be ignored should they ask.

From a technical level, the bridge would be implemented through Matrix. This allows a good experience on the IRC side of the bridge, as each Discord user would receive their own IRC nickname and can be addressed individually. Moderation would work largely the same way it has previously; moderation actions on IRC are carried over to Matrix, which would allow for removing bridged users from the Matrix room. Unfortunately, it is not subsequently carried over to Discord, but the MediaWiki Discord does have an active moderation team, and users moderated from the IRC or Matrix side will not be seen or heard from on IRC or Matrix. Moderation actions performed on Discord do not get sent through the bridge, so Discord moderators are unable to impact IRC or Matrix users beyond the what get shown on Discord itself.

Please share your thoughts below on whether we should establish such a bridge. --Skiz zerz 17:42, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Overall I'm supportive of trying this out. Which channel on the Discord side did you want to bridge into IRC/Matrix? Legoktm (talk) 17:56, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Not sure yet, options would be the main support channel (sees a lot of traffic, primarily support as the name implies), the code-contribution channel (less traffic, mostly dev talk) or making some new channel on the discord specifically for the bridge. If there's any strong preference towards any of those, it'd be good to know. Skiz zerz 18:47, 24 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

I think either #support or a new #general type channel would work well. Legoktm (talk) 02:32, 6 September 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@Skizzerz: let's give this a try? Can we create a temporary #mediawiki-irc channel to see how it goes and then we can determine what channel it should flow into, or if it needs a distinct one? Legoktm (talk) 18:47, 15 October 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Resolved The bridging has successfully been in place now for a few months with good cross-participation from people on Discord and IRC interacting and no real complaints (AFAIK). Legoktm (talk) 06:08, 28 February 2023 (UTC)[reply]