[rv77ax]

Do you even use Slack? I don't work for Slack but your comment is so misleading.

> but one thing that concerns me is that the discussion that happens is no longer (easily) searchable.

No it is not. Look at the top right and type your words. If you use free plan, only 10k message will be archived, other than that it will be deleted.[1]

> Mailing list archives are handy when you are looking for a solution to a problem. With Slack, a lot of that knowledge disappears.

Its a tool for direct communication for group, not for documentation. I think you miss a hammer for screwdriver.

[1] https://myabuy.slack.com/pricing

[wstrange]

I use Slack often, and yes I know about the search feature.

How do I find the answer to a question that was posted two months ago, for an open source project that is not paying to keep more than 10K messages?

History vanishes with Slack. I get why this is very cool for internal communication. I just question the use of Slack for open source community driven projects.

[rrix]

Are slack histories indexed by google, like mailing list archives or large IRC channels?

[wstrange]

They are not - this is exactly the problem I am alluding to.