Goodbye Slack, Hello Discord!

We’ve all heard the cliches: “The only thing constant in life is change”, “Change is the law of life”, “Our only security is our ability to change”. I could go on for days. The truth is, these quotes, and quotes like them, are used and abused by all of us because they’re true. No matter how you rationalize it, change is, in a word, uncomfortable. Even when it brings about incredible growth and realized potential, change kind of sucks. As Salt Project community members, we’ve definitely seen a lot of change over the past few years, and now we need to change a little bit more.

When VMware, and its various subsidiaries like Salt Project were acquired by Broadcom in late 2023, we were told to prepare for a few wholesale changes that would be required by Broadcom. One of these changes is Salt Projects’ use of Slack as our main communications platform. This decision not only impacts Salt Project, it impacts all departments, teams, and organizations using Slack under the Broadcom banner.

In short, Slack is not allowed at Broadcom.

Upon receiving this information, Salt Project leadership and core team members started searching for, and vetting options that we felt would best accommodate the ever-changing needs, and heavy demands of Salt users around the world.

Thankfully the Salt Project was able to quickly find a fantastic replacement. Effective immediately, March 21, 2024, Salt Project is ending our usage of Slack, and switching to Discord.

Here’s what you need to know

• The Salt Project Community Discord server is live, and virtually all Slack content has already been migrated to our new Discord server.
• Salt Project community members need to switch to the new Discord server immediately. (Just rip the band-aid off quickly, it only takes a few minutes to make the switch.)
• The new Discord server will feel very similar to our old Slack.
• The Salt Project Slack workspace will remain live until the end of May 2024.
• Although the Salt Project Slack workspace is live, it will be READ ONLY. Community members will NOT be able to add new content or ask questions in Slack.
• If your employer doesn’t allow the Discord app on company hardware, the Discord website is great and has all of the same features as the desktop version.
• If your employer doesn’t allow access to Discord at all or you need time to request permission to use Discord, you can still communicate with Salt Project and the community on GitHub Discussions as needed.

Here’s what you need to do

• If you don’t have it already, set up a Discord account. You can use a personal or professional account: Getting Started with Discord.
• Use the Salt Project Discord invite link to join the Salt Project Community server.
• Agree to the terms of the new Salt Project Community Code of Conduct.
• Enjoy the new features of the Salt Project Community Discord server!

Again, the switch from Slack to Discord is effective immediately, March 21, 2024. Please know that all of us at Salt Project are aware of how disruptive this is going to be in the short-term. In the long run however, we feel this transition will be fantastic for the Salt Project Community.

We thank you in advance for your patience and continued support of Salt Project.