CERN Replacing Facebook Workplace With A Set Of Open-Source Software Alternatives

[ermo]

For CERN, this is at least as much about money as any principles (although for some the principles matter too).

CERN depends on the member orgs to pay for the overheads of the organization, and not surprisingly, the funding tends to be tight (finding money for science is often a hard sell, so the scientists want to spend what money they can get on the science, not the overheads, although they recognize that overheads have to be paid).

Microsoft and Facebook (and others) have been ending certain advantageous pricing offerings that had been previously available to research organizations such as CERN, and regular commercial pricing from those firms makes it worth looking hard at the alternatives (especially since CERN already has a robust internal IT support group necessary just to do their science).

So, never attribute to principles what can be adequately explained by pocketbook issues.

(emphasis mine)

I'm saving this quote because it is spot on.

The point about IRC having limited appeal (which was put forward further back in the thread) is true too.

[user556]

So, never attribute to principal what can be adequately explained by pocketbook issues.

Politically, that still takes balls. Just the lack of comprehension internally will usually stop most organisations from executing on such ideas. They'll find financial saving elsewhere instead.

It'll really come down to CERN being one of the rare places where the users themselves are far more familiar with non-M$ solutions.

[fazalmajid]

CERN already has a robust internal IT support group necessary just to do their science)

An understatement. These are the people who invented the Web, after all.

[NateHubbard]

Why did such a significant organization rely on Facebook in the first place?

Or any organization. But yeah, that's the real question here.

[Vistaus]

You gotta go where the users are, really. I like the Raku (formerly Perl 6) programming language, but their community is on IRC. How many people under age 35 are comfortable with IRC, even in the tech industry?

I'm 28 and I'm comfortable with IRC. Granted, I haven't used it much in the past 5 years, but I did use it before then, so I'm experienced. IRC still rules IMHO

[Michael_S]

I'm 28 and I'm comfortable with IRC. Granted, I haven't used it much in the past 5 years, but I did use it before then, so I'm experienced. IRC still rules IMHO

It's fine, nothing wrong with it. But I am 99% sure you're a rarity in your age group.

[Veto]

For CERN, this is at least as much about money as any principals (although for some the principals matter too).... So, never attribute to principal what can be adequately explained by pocketbook issues.

True. However, in most big organizations pocketbook issues seems to be trumped by career-safe investment choices.

[stormcrow]

An understatement. These are the people who invented the Web, after all.

What CERN does, the experimental physics community usually follows. Much of their software, practices, etc are used by other projects around the world. Any collaborative associations would definitely be following along.

[pal666]

Mattermost is a reasonable Slack clone, we're winding down use of it at my workplace however, in favour of Microsoft Teams, which isn't as bad as it sounds

compared to slack teams is a joke

[onicsis]

ImHO from the beginning Facebook was not designed to offer infrastructure for some big project, supposedly [absurdly] Linus change his mind wanting to to give up old LKML infrastructure, replacing with what Facebook can offer for communications. Thinking this can not happen because of technical reasons, Facebook it's a social network.