We’re making some organizational changes and we want to be direct with you about our plans.
Like many technology companies navigating the market conditions of the past year, we’re adjusting our cost structure to ensure long-term sustainability. We’re managing discretionary spending more carefully and focusing our resources on the areas that matter most to our customers.
we’re saying goodbye to some of our talented colleagues and team members.
So.. greetings from your former community manager! I am among the crew who lost their job yesterday. It’s a heartbreaking day for the company and my heart goes out to all of us who lost our jobs, to those remaining who will miss us, and especially to the leaders who were put in the horrendous position of having to decide who to let go. I love you all.
I am still processing and adjusting to no longer having my moderator badge and privileges here on meta, and also having lost access to our internal instance where I am used to engaging and working with the team every day.
For me it’s not goodbye at all! I was an active member here on meta long before I joined the company nearly 6 years ago, and I will remain as active as I can be going forward helping folks with their questions, giving feedback to improve the product, and being part of the crew making this particular community the best it can be.
Also, I will be seeking my next job in this ecosystem, so feel free to reach out!
Damn, that’s incredibly sad and surprising to hear. Condolences to everyone affected by this change.
Are you able to share what is being considered here? I wonder if there are adjacent revenue streams to hosting that might be an option? Like, maybe providing free hosting, but with ads and ad revenue on the forum goes towards discourse? Or perhaps a nudge every few updates for self hosted users that they could send a one time payment/donation?
I’ve never personally paid for Discourse, but have 3 self hosted instances. A subscription isn’t something I could commit to, but donating every now and then is something I would be happy to do. It wouldn’t be much, but it’s something.
We have considered several different monetisation strategies including the ad model you suggest. We hold strong values around privacy that we won’t compromise on and that makes some of the more obvious ideas more difficult to execute effectively.
Our hosting business is solid. We have a steady revenue stream but under the current economic conditions we don’t have confidence that we can continue to support 100+ people for a sustained period of time. We had to make the difficult decision to cut deep and return the business to profitability so that we can remain in this game for the long term. The mission is that important to us.
I can see a lot of sense in that sadly. Everyone is cutting spending which makes it harder and harder to predict what the next few years will look like.
In today’s world, it’s refreshing to hear you guys won’t compromise on those values. Discourse is one of few successful platforms/projects that actually delivers on this front.
Thank you for all your work here. And thank you to the others who have been let go.
Diescourse really is an antidote to many of the bad things going on in the world now. Although it sounds trite, please know that your work has improved the world in a way that most people don’t get the chance to do.
I just want to say thank you to all the staff who have helped out so much here but have been finally let go . You all have made Discourse and Meta such a wonderful place. A special thanks to @tobiaseigen as well for working tirelessly here on Meta!
I wish you all the best in your future endeavours!
It was certainly a difficult day, and I also want to wish the best to everyone directly impacted, all of whom have contributed greatly to what Discourse is today.
Some of you here may be wondering who will step in to be the steward of this community now. This is something we’ll also be continuing to work through in the coming weeks and months.
Looking back over the past few years, we’ve certainly all benefited from having someone fill that role in a dedicated capacity, but we’ve also been through phases where we’ve had to make it more of a collective effort.
Rest assured that we are planning to continue investing in the success of this community. We’ve been actively discussing our vision and strategy for the community, and are continuing to do so.
In the coming weeks, you’ll likely see many familiar faces here stepping in to help while we rebalance some responsibilities among the team before settling into a new shape for how we manage things going forward.
I am among the crew who lost their job yesterday. It’s a heartbreaking day for the company and my heart goes out to all of us who lost our jobs, to those remaining who will miss us, and especially to the leaders who were put in the horrendous position of having to decide who to let go. 
I love you all.
and ad revenue on the forum goes towards discourse? Or perhaps a nudge every few updates for self hosted users that they could send a one time payment/donation?
. You all have made Discourse and Meta such a wonderful place. A special thanks to 
Thank you for this. I really needed it today.