Using Mattermost

An open-source tool for community communications

The Koha community decided that we needed a new community platform that is as inclusive as possible, open source, modern, easy to use and familiar. We jointly selected a tool that meets this brief, Mattermost. PTFS Europe is generously hosting the Koha Community Mattermost server and there are a number of admin users across the community.

Join the conversation by visiting chat.koha-community.org and making your account. You can start to use it straight away to ask questions, discuss bugs, raise issues or find out news about the Koha project. To find out more about how to use Mattermost and get handy tips, visit their useful website here Use Mattermost – Collaborate or reach out to the PTFS Europe team and we’d be happy to get you onboard. 

To help get you started, see the steps below:

1. First you’ll need to join via the Koha Community sign-up page

https://chat.koha-community.org/signup_user_complete

2. Once you’ve made your account, you will be able to see our community page. Now it’s time to add some channels, you can do this by selecting ‘Add channels’ on the left-hand side, followed by ‘Browse channels’ to see what’s available.

To get you started, we recommend joining: 

• • koha-UK – Discussions among Koha users in the UK – with specific UK relevance
  • Libraries – This is where we can chat to each other, about how Koha is used in libraries. And other Library chat! 
  • Social – For random & social conversation
  • Town square – The common space for all talk
  • IRC bridge – A bridge between the IRC and Mattermost servers.

There are many other channels you can join by browsing this list too, such as Development, Documentation, and different language group communities. 

Something missing? If you’d like a new channel, contact community administrators Jake Deery or Martin Renvoize who would be happy to assist. You can reach them by searching under the ‘Direct Message’ option on Mattermost or via email (jake.deery@openfifth.co.uk, martin.renvoize@openfifth.co.uk). 

3. Let’s take a look at the Libraries channel, with recent posts including general library updates, the Koha Community Newsletter, PTFS Europe’s ‘What’s on our Minds’ updates and ByWater’s ‘Monday Minutes’. Join the conversation and share your updates.

4. As you will see whilst you are using it, the Mattermost platform includes all the functionality you’re familiar with from online chat communities. You can send direct messages, react, get notifications for threads you’re involved in, invite new members, and amend settings to your preference. Have a play around, and welcome to the community!