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Propose new RFC for migrating off Sympa. #63

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Propose new RFC for migrating off Sympa. #63

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65 changes: 65 additions & 0 deletions new/rfcNNN-mailing-list-migration.md
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---
RFC: unassigned
Author: Julian C. Dunn (<jdunn@aquezada.com>)
Status: Draft
Type: Process
---

# Title

This RFC proposes the migration of all existing Chef mailing lists
(namely, `{chef,chef-dev}@lists.opscode.com`) into Google Groups.

## Motivation

As a user of Chef,
I want the Chef mailing lists on a reliable and easy-to-use platform,
So that I can easily collaborate with others in the community.

As a system administrator working at Chef Software, Inc.,
I want to retire the old mailing list system & not manage one in-house,
So that I can focus my attention on higher-priority infrastructure issues.

## Specification

This RFC proposes to migrate the existing Sympa-run mailing lists at
`lists.opscode.com` to Google Groups.

There are only two mailing lists of note: `chef` and `chef-dev`. The
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opscode-announce is no longer used?

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I don't believe it is, at least not consistently. We've had many releases since August 2014, when we last thought to post to it.

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We tend to post to just the chef and chef dev lists with announcements, as well as always posting to the blog. We should resurrect opscode-announce in some form at least, as that likely has value.

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Sure, we could create a new chef-announce Google Group, outside of the scope of this RFC. I wouldn't bother to migrate what's in opscode-announce now. Agree/disagree?

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Agree.

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👍

desired group names would be the same, but if `chef` is already taken,
we propose that the new group name become `chef-users`.

### Subscriber Migration

All existing subscribers on the current mailing list(s) would be
migrated to their counterparts on Google Groups.

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Should we migrate subscribers? I'd advocate for inviting all current subscribers and letting them decide if they'd like to accept the invitation or simply ignore it.

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I think it's better to migrate as-is -- that way users aren't annoyed that they need to re-subscribe/confirm anything in order to keep getting their email.

### Archive Migration

Chef Software, Inc. will make a reasonable attempt to migrate the
archives of each of these mailing lists out of Sympa, potentially
using a tool like [sympa-data-exporter](https://github.com/cdelacroix/sympa-data-extract) and into Google Groups.

However, we recognize that this may not be feasible. If it is not,
we will simply create a static HTML site of the old Sympa archives
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There is a benefit to the static site option, in that we could maintain existing links to specific posts that are referenced elsewhere

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Personally, I'm in favor of a static site and not migrating any messages. This is an opportunity for us to hit the big reset button on the list.

Every previous attempt to migrate these messages to Google Groups has failed and is usually the point at which we've abandoned the work.

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Can we simply leave the Sympa archives up in their existing form until the information rots sufficiently that we can turn it off?

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We've already done a test run of putting the archives on a static site, and it will be really good to get rid of the old machine. I'm in favor of static site, not leaving the sympa machine up.

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Okay, I'm in favor of whatever the shortest path is that satisfies the requirement that we keep the information around for a year or so and then we can stop caring about it. The previous attempts have all floundered because of a perceived hard requirement to port the old archives to the new system and keep the old data around for eternity. So the old data has been what has been holding us hostage to being stuck on a shitty system.

and publish that.

## Rationale

The existing mailing list system at [lists.opscode.com](http://lists.opscode.com), Sympa, is very old and fragile.
Additionally, it is not a delightful experience for end-users of
Chef, who must navigate a non-intuitive interface to subscribe to,
unsubscribe from, and view the archives of the Chef user and developer
mailing lists.

There have been [previous efforts dating to 2012](http://archive.lists.chef.io/sympa/arc/chef-dev/2012-06/msg00029.html) to try and migrate off Sympa,
but no action has been taken thus far. By codifying the direction in
this RFC, we hope to pave the way for this migration to be done in
an expeditious way.

## Copyright

This work is in the public domain. In jurisdictions that do not allow for this,
this work is available under CC0. To the extent possible under law, the person
who associated CC0 with this work has waived all copyright and related or
neighboring rights to this work.