On Fri, Mar 30, 2018 at 9:25 AM, Brett Cannon
So for me, the first question is are we just considering alternatives to the "IRC problem" or are we trying to solve the "new contributors who were born in the 2000s problem" (for which the latter subsumes the former)? My guess is the former as tackling the latter is a major undertaking due to people who will only let go of email when they are dead. And in that instance my vote is for Zulip if we can get them to donate free hosting.
It seems that Zulip offers free hosting: "Do you have special plans for open source projects, non-profits, groups of friends, and other non-commercial entities? Yes! Zulip Cloud Premium is free for open source projects and a wide variety of non-commercial entities. We also often offer steep discounts to educational institutions, and in other scenarios where users are not being paid a salary. Just contact sales@zulipchat.com and we'd be happy to discuss your situation! You may also be interested in Zulip for open source projects or Zulip for working groups and other part-time communities." [1] [1] https://zulipchat.com/plans/