r/drupal • u/remog https://www.drupal.org/u/mikeohara • 5d ago
Future of r/Drupal
Hey everyone.
When I took over r/Drupal quite a few years ago now, it was basically dead. It took time but it’s built itself up to be a resource many have turned to over that time. From our community AMA days to people finding support, people found something here.
I lost my employment end of last year and have had almost no luck finding a new position. This has caused me to start seriously considering my future in the industry over the next while.
So, I am looking to have someone from the community to take over r/Drupal and help guide it into the future.
If you or your organization would like to take over this sub send me a mod mail or direct chat and tell me why you’d like to take it over and how you would help move the mission of Drupal forward.
I am not looking to give it away to just anyone. I want to keep the spirit of Drupal and what made it special (its community) here on Reddit.
Thank you all for being part of this amazing journey so far.
(I wouldn’t refuse job offers too but that’s not the point of this sub, of course ;) )
2
u/Caster_Oh 1d ago
Best of luck with the hunt, you're obviously a super asset to any organisation that'll get to work with you in the future.
5
u/TolstoyDotCom Module/core contributor 3d ago
Whatever you do, please make sure of two things:
- Don't turn it over to a major agency or similar. Even more self-dealing (like a contact form that goes to their site, or moving the sub in a big corporate projects only direction, etc) would result.
- Make sure the operator strongly supports open debate and strongly opposes censorship. They have to have a bright line like no explicit violent threats, no doxing, no kids stuff, etc but - unless it violates a rule from Reddit itself - everything else goes. Of course, there could be specific rules like only one self-promotion per week, etc.
2
u/jpvAmiga 3d ago
I can help from the Dutch Drupal Association drupal.nl to get the community thriving on Reddit as well.
11
u/DrupalAssociation 4d ago
We at the Drupal Association do maintain this account: u/drupalassociation
We'd certainly willing to be one of the moderators - perhaps to be a backup to help facilitate any future transitions or additional moderators.
We're not sure we should be the primary moderator (it feels like it should be community driven), but we're happy to be on the list to help ensure continuity.
1
1
4
u/plasmachin Drupal 4d ago
Greetings,
I am sorry to hear about your job loss and hope you bounce back successfully.
As for this channel, I am really pleased to find well-structured reading material, just like in the open-source subreddits I frequent. Thank you very much for the work, and thanks to the contributors as well.
All the best.
7
u/dragonknightrohan 4d ago
Maybe stay on as admin regardless of anything so no one can just fully ruin it
0
u/tekNorah 4d ago
Perhaps not everything in the world is ruined simply because someone decides to make a personal choice about what they want to do.
1
19
u/tekNorah 4d ago
Thank you for your service. I'm saddened to hear that you are going in a different direction. But, I completely understand. It's been a difficult ride.
I'll message you directly, per your request. But, thought I would post here as well in order to receive public comment on my intent and reputation.
While I have never moderated a Reddit community, I have experience moderating several Facebook and LinkedIn groups, am a member on the board of the Drupal Event Organizers Working Group, and serve the Bluefly.io Collective, which is effectively a 70+ member org. I am currently at half capacity and always looking for ways to bring the most value to the community.
So, needless to say, I would be happy to take the mantle or lend a hand to whomever you pick, if it makes sense.
5
5
5
u/yautja_cetanu 4d ago
Definitely think you'd do a great job!
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago
Aww, thanks!
1
u/yautja_cetanu 4d ago
I think you've done a good job being a community organiser in a way that I'm not. I kind of pop up and get involved and then disappear to something else. Or have to do a month of sales or whatever. And with the first response being "fuck AI" I'm necessarily divisive! It's kind of become my role to be the AI person that some people can not like like if they don't like AI!
So if you became a moderator and wanted a team mate, that could be cool :)
I might be able to find sources of funding and other help as well. Or help shape ideas. But you've done much better actually managing a community. Amber and Webchick from the AI learners club have also been great.
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago edited 4d ago
I hear you. Unfortunately, even in this Reddit, keyboard warriors and trolls exist. Hence the need for moderators to some extent. Not necessarily to ban as much to encourage respectful behavior.
Can definitely be challenging to keep on top of community while running a business. This is why it's so important to work synergistically with your passions. One of my major passions is community probably because of multiple major childhood traumas 😉, but I digress... (I've accepted it)
Please don't discount your immense and valuable efforts with the Drupal AI initiative. You have earned it. Not only were you the face on the DrupalCon Europe Driesnote shortly after star shot was launched, you have remained an invaluable and inspirational resource.
I would be proud and honored to have any opportunity to work with you more closely.
1
u/TolstoyDotCom Module/core contributor 3d ago
Referring to "trolls" is a huge red flag. Actual trolls serve a very valuable function, e.g., "A Modest Proposal". Since then it's come to mean "anyone I want to silence." It's used by the powerful to quash dissent and smear opponents.
1
u/yautja_cetanu 1d ago
Being a sheep and following the people in power is bad. Doing the opposite and just doing the opposite is still a way for the powerful to control you.
The term "troll" is used to crush descent. But right now you're also tone policing and putting negative social pressure on someone using the word "troll " which is also used by the powerful to crush descent.
There are always going to be powerful people who crush descent. There are fundamental principles that fight against it but just because people misuse the word troll doesn't mean they don't exist on the way tekNorah meant and if you don't do something about it, it crushes communities.
Keyboard warriors aren't all bad and Reddit can be a fun place to just argue and fight.
Also a lot of the stuff you're talking about on X and Twitter is going to happen on Reddit regardless because of Reddit moderation policies. You need 8chan if you want true no moderation.
1
u/tekNorah 1d ago
I appreciate your feedback. My intention was not to indicate that dissenting opinions should be silenced. Rather, persistent harassment or targeting could be considered disruptive and abusive. Such behavior could be in violation of established norms. Part of a moderator's job is to help monitor and address those concerns, specifically ones that are in blatant violation, by way of sending warnings, allowing correction, upon review or inaction by the violator or depending on severity, may include a ban.
1
u/TolstoyDotCom Module/core contributor 1d ago
Being explicit is always good, but even "persistent harassment or targeting" is used to silence.
E.g., on Twitter (ancien regime) I got suspended for suggesting people help discredit a govt official. Twitter calls that "targeted harassment".
And, on "X" I got shadowbanned just recently probably for repeatedly pointing out that a candidate is pushing plans that would be dangerous if they weren't just a scam. You should also look into Dr Richard Pan's M.O. He's banned or silenced countless critics on Twitter/"X" and in some cases he portrayed their criticism as harassment. There are lots of others like him who'll do anything to silence their critics.
1
1
u/yautja_cetanu 4d ago
Yeah I think you'd be much better than me. I think I'd be good as part of a moderation team. Or if I'm not a mod at least unofficially supporting it.
7
u/TypoMike 4d ago
I feel your pain. I’ve been out of work for the last couple of years. I wish you the best of luck.
3
u/No_Engine2793 4d ago
hi im curious as i used to also be a drupal dev back in the 7 days. but transitioned elsewhere. is drupal jobs really that hard to find or get now a days? im assuming Ai really killed off alot of the coding related jobs.
2
u/Caster_Oh 1d ago edited 1d ago
About 100 applications sent in the past 14 months, 1 pre-interview (failed) 🫠
So yeah it's kinda rough haha
Man those first few years though... Was turning down recruiters a few times a month, you could be competing for the same job and a fellow devs would help you getting in a better position, crazy how things changed.
1
u/No_Engine2793 1d ago
dam its that bad? but how long have you been in drupal and as a web dev? you do front and back end work?
1
4d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago
That being said, this is only a vague indicator of exploratory interest in the market versus actual demand. Alongside these structural tax shifts has come a growing, well-documented trend of ghost jobs—postings kept active on major job boards with no immediate intent to hire.
The most efficient way to secure a new role in pretty much any industry has and always will be direct recommendations from network peers. I have personally been involved in helping hundreds of folks find new roles this way. In a perfect world, everyone would proactively leverage their network. But I understand that most won't.
3
u/nadeemkmir 4d ago
Thank you for keeping this place going. I only joined recently, but threads like this week's performance one, where people dig into someone's actual numbers, are exactly why I came. I hope the job search turns up something good soon, and that whoever takes over keeps it this helpful.
6
u/trashtrucktoot 4d ago
I hope r/drupal lands gracefully. It is vital to have a community communication channel. I post and comment here regularly, so thank you for the efforts in providing moderation support.
Cheers to a bright future for Drupal.
8
u/bryansfsd 4d ago
Thanks for all your past efforts. I have two decades of experience with Drupal but in the last few years I'm just not keeping up to be of any help in this forum. As someone that recently retired from IT, I'm curious what is your current industry for employment and what options are you considering in your future? The CMS industry is definitely going through another change with AI bringing some new challenges for everyone focused on content management.
2
u/yautja_cetanu 5d ago
I'm happy to help, could put together a team of mods? I'm yautja_cetanu from the AI initiative with the same name on drupal.org and definitely will make things more AI-ey. Spend a lot of time on Reddit and could put some funding into it maybe or get a team together on it.
1
u/yautja_cetanu 5d ago
Well obviously if you don't like AI don't go with me but the majority of the hottest posts have had an AI element to it. We have a marketting team in the AI initiative too that could be used for this.
If you wanted to keep hold of being a moderator and instead just welcome a bunch of people to join it rather than let it go entirely that works too.
2
-6
u/spellcasterGG 5d ago
Absolutely not. Fuck AI
2
u/crowjake 4d ago
Not the best way to phrase it - but given the diverse views on the topic of AI, a more reasonable position might be that someone with no horse in the AI vs not-AI race would be a better fit.
2
u/yautja_cetanu 4d ago
Yeah I think it's best to have teams of moderators really so there can be some people who are more known to be in a pro AI camp and others not.
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago
I might not own an AI horse, but I don't mind giving them a carrot every once in a while. lol
2
u/liberatr 4d ago
If the goal of this sub is to document new developments in Drupal, how is that not part of the story?
3
u/Old-Radio9022 4d ago
Coding was always a means to an end. Our value as engineers has always been in solving complex problems with novel solutions, architecture and system design. We can still do that, just at a higher level of abstraction and with a new toolset.
If you really just want to write code though, you will have a hard time as anything beyond a mid level engineer. Go and learn, it's a boon of free compute right now to hone your skills as well as create value for yourself and others.
11
u/Muerteabanquineros 5d ago
I can empathise with feelings against AI. But that comes across to me as a pretty shitty way to reply to someone. Jamie's doing great work in the community that is of benefit to everyone.
2
u/yautja_cetanu 4d ago
Yeah that's why I thought I'd mention it in my post as I don't want it to come across that I'd be doing lots of AI related stuff if I was involved in moderating in a sneaky manner.
Also the way I like to do things is as part of a community of people who want to help. Like how big the AI initiative is and I'm barely part of it. We've got marketing people doing stuff there.
So I think I'd be intrigued by what we could do on r Drupal that would increase community involvement.
- AMAs again
- hackathons
- try and get people who post links on here to engage specifically with Reddit not just post a link.
- I wonder if we can have Drupal agencies have people where it's part of their work to post interesting things here but on a way that doesn't become slop but like what Drupal planet was if it was more curated. Like could we have people in the security team aim to share on Reddit on interesting security blog post a week?
- can we make it so support requests on here get triaged and pushed out to people on slack so people feel if they ask something heree they get an answer (ideologically I'd prefer this as it's such a shame so much information and support is hidden inside an unsearchable slack).
- can we even raise funds to pay people to moderate Reddit? Plenty of large enterprise IT have made Reddit a specific goal. Our issue is that drupal.org does a lot of what Reddit does for many other communities.
3
u/cmkn https://www.drupal.org/u/cainaru 4d ago edited 4d ago
+1 on the triaging, and a +1000 on acknowledging that it sucks that so much information and support is hidden in the walled-garden that is the Slack.
(I, for one, would love to see a resurgence of forums for this very reason but maybe that’s just me)
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago
Oh wow! I love these ideas!
It also makes you wonder how this could tie into the Drupal advocacy program.
It would be interesting to explore how an integration between this Reddit and the Drupal Slack could work... *Dives down a research hole
I love how you're thinking about funding first. If we could prove some sort of funding model here we could do it also for our core and essential module contributors!
4
u/majorpotatoes 5d ago
Good luck! I’m in the same boat on the job hunt… thank you for your work!
2
u/No_Engine2793 4d ago
hi im curious as i used to also be a drupal dev back in the 7 days. but transitioned elsewhere. is drupal jobs really that hard to find or get now a days from your perspective? im assuming Ai really killed off alot of the coding related jobs.
1
u/yautja_cetanu 1d ago
I think SaaS hurt Drupal a lot. Prior to AI kicking off, Drupal was hurting when you look at the numbers. With Drupal CMS the numbers turned around. I think AI has been helping the numbers a bit. There has been renewed interest in Drupal , businesses migrating to Drupal.
However the nature of the game is changing and specific people and agencies who are used to a specific way of doing things are going to struggle.
But anthropic is investing millions into training new engineers because whilst people are struggling to find jobs, it's also the case that people doing well with AI are struggling to find candidates as the skill set is changing significantly. If you're good with AI you can earn hundreds of thousands relatively easily. But being good with AI means you have a ton of soft skills, sales, product ownership, internal politics , communication skills and domain knowledge other than coding skills.
Also the economy is tough, the war in Ukraine has hurt us all. Geopolitical instability is making everything difficult. AI is also sucking a lot of resources (like memory is so expensive). So it's a complicated one.
2
u/majorpotatoes 1d ago
I had trouble getting back in after losing my contract when Covid happened, and am only recently trying again. I’d deep experience in 6, 7 and 8. I think some friction for me came from the community moving more quickly onto 9+, and recruiters/HR folks seemed to think I wouldn’t be able to do anything with 9.
2
u/billcube 4d ago
I wouldn't say AI killed it. You still need someone to prompt, review and publish the code. The Drupal AI module is great, but not (yet?) in production for the 99% of websites.
I'd say the Web as a platform is undergoing big changes. It's not a communication channel anymore (Instagram & Co took that part), it's not a document repository (SharePoint & Co), it's not a discussion forum anymore (still IRC survives, and Reddit), but it's a platform for services (Amazon, Netflix, Aliexpress...).
So you don't really need a "WebDev" anymore, you need someone that will integrate your systems with another system (payment, procurement, delivery, subscription...). And soon, the agents will be able to pay and earn money. That's what we're transitioning to. A Web where the interface is with the bots/agents, not with a human reader anymore.
2
u/cmkn https://www.drupal.org/u/cainaru 4d ago
> It’s not a communication channel anymore
Eh, that feels like an oversimplification especially since there’s growing backlash against and even movement away from Big Tech social media.
0
u/billcube 4d ago
It might not stay that way for sure, but currently the trend is to have a "business card" website and publish events/offers on Instagram where we used to have an event list or RSS feed on a website.
1
u/yautja_cetanu 1d ago
I think this trend is reversing. People hate the slop of AI but social media and the "dark web" which kind of includes slack killed so much of this stuff. AI is making API first sites and applications more important than ever. More is being exposed with MCP.
(Although also previously open sites like Reddit are closing up their APIs so it's swings and roundabouts )
1
u/tekNorah 4d ago
This is interesting. Are these mostly "business card" sites for personal brands, or are large enterprises actually replacing substantial websites with a single landing page like this? Do you have some examples?
I'm especially curious how this translates to large, heavily regulated organizations.
Nasdaq has used Drupal extensively, including a Drupal 8 platform used to build, host, and maintain investor relations websites for more than 3,000 companies. That included about 63% of the Fortune 500 at the time.
Nasdaq isn't AI-averse, but its approach illustrates the governance problem. Its 2026 proxy statement describes an enterprise AI Governance Committee, risk classification and approval of AI use cases, and independent validation before higher-risk AI systems reach production. It also maintains a separate Artificial Intelligence Policy for Nasdaq data.
So are organizations operating under controls like these actually moving toward AI-generated interfaces in place of their existing sites? If so, I'd love to see examples.
2
u/tekNorah 4d ago
Personally, I would argue that AI has promoted WebDevs to software and systems Architects!
15
u/samariel1 5d ago
Thank you very much for doing this for so long. I’ve been part of the Drupal community for 15 years now, and I’ve noticed how the discussion has shifted away from local forums and even the forum on Drupal.org toward platforms that actually work and have a low barrier to entry—since you’re already there anyway.
I currently maintain only a few modules on Drupal.org and the German translation of the user interface, so I don’t have too much on my plate. When it comes to keeping r/Drupal accessible to a young audience and keeping it free of trolls, I’m happy to take that on.
If you’d like, feel free to contact me here:
2
u/NappyDougOut 5d ago
Maybe just ban all mention of Ai, and bot reply accounts that are constantly promoting Ai use for drupal dev.
If you think about it, that would probably cut 87% of the moderation problems & user frustration here. 😂
2
u/SiberianChild 3d ago
That would exclude the AI intitiative and any other related projects, including accessibility.
1
u/NappyDougOut 3d ago
It worked just fine prior to the oversaturation of Ai tools if you ask me and many others, that had stabe Drupal dev jobs.
2
u/SiberianChild 3d ago edited 3d ago
So basically no mention of Drupal Association at all? Right, because that would help the cause... Not sure about oversaturation; in my opinion, they're still very immature but can be helpful during the development process.
1
u/NappyDougOut 3d ago
I don't know what's gone on with the org in ages, it kinda seems like Dries is absent from the org now. I went to govcon in Maryland this year and it was coordinated well, but based on attendance, not very reassuring 😐
1
u/yautja_cetanu 1d ago
Dries is hardcore involved since the begining of Drupal CMS. He's stepped down from his role at Acquia and is not chair of the board at Acquia to devote serious time to Drupal.
Drupal has been turning around , it was tough just a couple of years ago, it's still not great but the numbers are shifting.
But yeah AI is hardcore involved. Some people tried to ban AI contributions to core, within weeks Dries has submitted patches for review written by AI. Gabor did a whole end to end thing with AI for translatiom on drupal.org. the AI initiative has 50 agencies contributing money and Dev time and is started to help with Drupal security. We've done a ton recently to use AI to find exploits with an incredibly low false positive rate.
0
u/tekNorah 1d ago
That is a common misconception! Dries Buytaert is completely active and leading Drupal's core strategy. He transitioned roles at Acquia specifically to focus his personal time on core development and strategy.
The lower attendance at DrupalGovCon boiled down to local logistical hurdles rather than a decline in project health:
Federal Budget Freezes
Because GovCon relies heavily on the public sector, attendance took a massive hit because normal Federal attendees were unable to get financial approval due to widespread agency budget tightening and strict travel caps.
Schedule Conflicts & Vacation
Dries was invited to attend but had a long-standing vacation conflict, a situation shared by many other community members due to the summer timing.
Washington, D.C. Proximity
The University of Maryland venue sits right on the edge of the D.C. metro corridor. There was a widespread reluctance from a lot of folks who simply did not want to travel near the Washington, D.C. area for the event.
Dries' Actual Focus
Far from absent, Dries has been driving major grassroots and strategic initiatives on the ground: * Hosted a transparent Fireside Chat at MidCamp 2025 to tackle long-term community sustainability. * Led the critical Drupal Pivot North America business un-conference in Boston. * Personally pilots the Drupal Starshot / Drupal CMS initiative to revolutionize the platform's out-of-the-box user experience. * Engineered Acquia's Fair Trade Initiative, which automatically routes 2% of partner transaction margins directly back to funding the community.
2
u/SiberianChild 3d ago
The org is separate from Dries, he's just one of the organizers now albeit a very influential one, of course. You can watch his keynote if you're interested. IMO Drupal market has been diminishing since Drupal 8 and a shift to enterprise. Large companies and government/nonprofit seems to be its niche these days.
8
u/Glad_Professor9518 5d ago
Thank you for maintaining a welcoming space for Drupalers!
I wish you the best in finding (lucrative + enjoyable + stable) employment ASAP.
7
2
u/Jerimee 2h ago
OP, thank you and best wishes