Mathieu Bastian

Gephi is a popular open source network visualization software. In this talk we propose to share how we build the future of Gephi on two levels: the code, and the rest.

For two years, we have been making efforts to sustain Gephi over the long term. The threats to the project are sometimes about the code, sometimes not: what if a library we use, and is no longer maintained, becomes incompatible with the latest MacOS? What if the few people who know the codebase get out of the project, and we cannot transfer that knowledge to new devs? What if we fail to recruit new developers?

There is a lot of good will around Gephi, and yet making the project healthy is not easy because the path to sustainability is not obvious. This is the discussion we want to have with developers, both to share what works, and to get some feedback to improve. We are not there yet, and we struggle to recruit Java developers.

This talk will be given by two co-founders of the project, Mathieu Bastian, the historic architect of the Gephi codebase, and Mathieu Jacomy, the designer of Gephi and a researcher in network visualization.

In short, the topics we want to touch upon are: * What is the Gephi road map and why is it how it is * The path to funding the project * Our "Gephi code sustainability retreats", where they shined, where they failed * The relation we build two communities: the users, and the devs. * Documenting the codebase and engaging developers * How the Gephi project acknowledges the web as a platform (Gephi Lite)

Other people: Mathieu Jacomy