Tweak: Replacing Main Page link to google groups with discord link

[Zitchas]

Bugfix:

Problem

Currently, the front page of the Endless Sky repository directs people who are interested in contributing to the google groups page. As far as I can tell, none of the core developers or content creators frequent that group. Nor does the majority of the community that regularly interacts with the developers or content creators. As such, directing people to the google groups is likely to give outsiders the strong impression that there is virtually no activity or discussion surrounding the game's development.

Fix Details

This replaces the link to the google groups with a link to the Endless Sky Community discord. it also changes the link label so that it is clear that it is linking to the discord instead of to the google forum.

Results

So, 6 out of 23 people with google accounts that have visited the google groups previously can't reach it, and 0 out of 78 attempts to visit it for a "first" time succeeded.

Reasons to make this switch:

1. Appearances: Having the link to the developer discussion area be a link to somewhere that newcomers can't reach presents our development community as either: a) inactive/dead, or b) secretive/deceptive. Basically, if they know development is ongoing, then having a link to our developer discussion being an unreachable forum just makes us look elitist and secretive. For those who don't know that we're active, then we just look like another abandoned project.
2. Habit: With a dead link, people are likely to find our github, try the link, discover it is dead, and never try it again. This means that people who come back to the site later aren't likely to try it, because they've already tried it and it was dead. This means that right now, having a dead link prominently on our page decreases the chance of people going to the google groups once it is functional.
3. Honesty: If the google group is moved to an Archival section, it is clear to everyone that it is not currently being used, and that people shouldn't expect its accessibility (or lack thereof) to set any expectations about our community.
4. New-Factor: In the future, when/if the google groups becomes functional again, we can move the google groups link back to prominence somewhere as the restored google groups. This change will draw attention to the link as a visual indicator that it has been fixed and that people should use it again.
5. MZ reminder: If this link gets moved to an Archival section, it might serve as a reminder for MZ when he visits the page that this needs to be fixed. Thus it could contribute to it actually being fixed.
6. Time: This change is a very simple change. It costs mere seconds for someone to apply it right now, and less than a minute to do a new PR to change it once the google groups are fixed. If it helps, I can commit to making a new PR that implements this immediately after this PR is merged so that when the google groups is fixed, someone just has to spend the couple of seconds to apply that PR.

[MCOfficer]

Refs endless-sky/endless-sky.github.io#23, endless-sky/endless-sky.github.io#24

[Terin]

I had tossed that into my PR for updating the build instructions, but it makes sense to split it off. Although I included a link to the Steam forums, as well, in place of the Google forums. Should that be the case here, also? Or just the Discord link?

[Zitchas]

Hmmm, I'm undecided.

The steam forums, I feel, are basically just there for people trapped in the steam ecosystem. I don't see much value in trying to bring people from outside steam into it.

I must admit, part of me feels that it would be best to be complete in having all three listed together. But at the same time, I feel that linking people who want to contribute to the game anywhere but the discord (or GitHub itself) is doing them a diservice to the lack of developer or contributor knowledge on either of the other two ecosystems. Putting the three together implies that they are equal, and they are not.

[Terin]

As useful as the Github repo is, it's not exactly equivalent to forums. Derpy gives a decent amount of attention to them, and from my understanding, he'd like to re-arrange them some more if he had administrator access. They don't have complete developer attention, but enough to make them worth putting in the readme, I feel.

[Zitchas]

The more time goes on, the more this change needs to happen. The google groups looks deader every time I go there. This time when following the link to it, I even got a brief error message.

Two points:

1. The last activity on the Google Groups was a Feb 22 post by myself that was just a PSA pointing people to the discord. Prior to that, the last post was Jan 26. Given that level of activity, we need to either just delete the link to the google groups entirely, or replace it with a link to the discord. At this point, it would be better for everyone to not have a link to an official community at all than to direct people to a forum that is both dead and (at this point) filled with out-of-date information.
2. I don't know what changed, might have been part of the "Google groups has changed" message, but the groups doesn't seem to have sub-groups anymore. Or at least I can't find them. It just looks like one giant wall of threads now. That much less useful.

tldr: The link to the google groups needs to be removed. We can talk about what to do with its spot, but the link itself is an active negative for the community at this point and should be removed as soon as possible.

edit: If the discord is "official enough" to include in the game itself, then it is official enough to put on the game's website.

[Amazinite]

If we're going to make any change, I don't think that solely pointing people toward the Discord server is in order. Perhaps the Discord server could be the first listed, but we should list the Google Group and probably also the Steam forums as other valid places to go looking for discussion, just as the credits also names the Steam forums, the game's homepage (which links to the Google Group), and Discord. Perhaps it can be made clear that much of the discussion does happen on Discord right now, but those other avenues are still open.

[Zitchas]

Sure, adding in the steam forums as valid places to go is valid. I can look at adding it.

But the google groups is dead. That link is basically pointing to the forum equivalent of a corpse. It is worse than useless. It actively makes the game look like its community died.

[Zitchas]

Also, I'll point out that the sentence is specifically:

Those who wish to contribute are encouraged to review the wiki, and to post in the discussion forum.

I don't know about anyone else, but if I want to contribute, being directed to post in a dead forum is a very fast way to discourage anyone from learning how to contribute.

And I'll say it again: If the discord is sufficiently official to include in the game itself, it is more than sufficient to include in the github readme.

[Zitchas]

OK @Amazinite, revised it a bit. Specifically, adding the sentence regarding steam, and the archival section with the two links to the google groups and an explanation that they are no longer used, and thus included purely for historical purposes.

Contributing

As a free and open source game, Endless Sky is the product of many peoples' work. Contributions of artwork, storylines, and other writing are most in-demand, while there is a loosely defined development roadmap. Those who wish to contribute are encouraged to review the wiki, and to post in the community discord. Those who prefer to use Steam can use the steam discussion room.

Archival

Endless Sky's main discussion and development area used to be here on google groups (and an alternative link), but it is no longer used regularly and is included here solely for historical purposes. Note that it may require a google account to view.

[Zitchas]

For the sake of semi-scientific informed decision making, I'm running a poll on the discord:
https://discord.com/channels/251118043411775489/509076786538086400/843148387657842719

The results are early so far, but there does seem to be a strong trend so far:
9 out of 12 could access the group when they tried while logged into an account that has visited it before.
0 out of 11 could access it when they tried while logged into an account that had NOT visited it before.
0 out of 13 could access it when they were not logged into an account.

So far, it seems that the google group is basically inaccessible to anyone who hasn't already visited it.

[VaelophisNyx]

I had been in the group before while signed in, but could not get to it without looking at the specific page for google groups you've been in

google's search functions returned nothing when attempting to find it

cross posted here at Z's request

[Zitchas]

Here are the results of the poll after about 19h.

Note that due to the way discord works, my initial placement of those counts as 1 for each of them. So the totals actually stand at:
For accounts that have visited it before:
11 : I can view the group while signed into an account that has visited it before.
3 : I can NOT view the group while signed into an account that has visited it before.

For accounts that have NOT visited it before:
0 : I can view the group while signed into an account that has never visited it before.
25 : I can NOT view the group while signed into an account that has never visited it before.

While not signed into a google account:
0 : I can view the group while not signed into any google account.
21 : I can NOT view the group while not signed into any google account.

While not included in these numbers, my personal contribution to them would be:

• I can view the google groups while logged into an account that has previously visited it.
• I cannot view the google groups while logged into an account that has not previously visited it.
• I cannot view the google group while not logged in.

[Zitchas]

In view of the points raised by @tehhowch in the google groups thread, I would like to suggest that this current change be merged for now (because right now and for as far as we can see into the future) there is zero point in pointing people to the google groups.

If, at some point in the future, the google groups (or some other forum) is implemented, we can just as easily adjust this page to point to it. The important thing is that we don't drive new contributors away by continuing to point them to a non-accessible resource.

[Zitchas]

The final results of the poll:

For accounts that have visited it before: (note, for the sake of the poll I had to give the first one for each one, which I have removed to include my own test)
17 : I can view the group while signed into an account that has visited it before.
6 : I can NOT view the group while signed into an account that has visited it before.

For accounts that have NOT visited it before:
0 : I can view the group while signed into an account that has never visited it before.
48 : I can NOT view the group while signed into an account that has never visited it before.

While not signed into a google account:
0: I can view the group while not signed into any google account.
30: I can NOT view the group while not signed into any google account.

So, 6 out of 23 people with google accounts that have visited the google groups previously can't reach it, and 0 out of 78 attempts to visit it for a "first" time succeeded.

Reasons to make this switch:

1. Appearances: Having the link to the developer discussion area be a link to somewhere that newcomers can't reach presents our development community as either: a) inactive/dead, or b) secretive/deceptive. Basically, if they know development is ongoing, then having a link to our developer discussion being an unreachable forum just makes us look elitist and secretive. For those who don't know that we're active, then we just look like another abandoned project.
2. Habit: With a dead link, people are likely to find our github, try the link, discover it is dead, and never try it again. This means that people who come back to the site later aren't likely to try it, because they've already tried it and it was dead. This means that right now, having a dead link prominently on our page decreases the chance of people going to the google groups once it is functional.
3. Honesty: If the google group is moved to an Archival section, it is clear to everyone that it is not currently being used, and that people shouldn't expect its accessibility (or lack thereof) to set any expectations about our community.
4. New-Factor: In the future, when/if the google groups becomes functional again, we can move the google groups link back to prominence somewhere as the restored google groups. This change will draw attention to the link as a visual indicator that it has been fixed and that people should use it again.
5. MZ reminder: If this link gets moved to an Archival section, it might serve as a reminder for MZ when he visits the page that this needs to be fixed. Thus it could contribute to it actually being fixed.
6. Time: This change is a very simple change. It costs mere seconds for someone to apply it right now, and less than a minute to do a new PR to change it once the google groups are fixed. If it helps, I can commit to making a new PR that implements this immediately after this PR is merged so that when the google groups is fixed, someone just has to spend the couple of seconds to apply that PR.