Is Jamstack Officially Finished?  ## Metadata - Author: [[Brian Rinaldi]] - Full Title: Is Jamstack Officially Finished? - Category: #articles - Document Note: ## Summarize: The article discusses the recent closure of The Jamstack Community Discord by Netlify and explores the current state of the Jamstack community. The author reflects on the evolving definition of Jamstack and how it has transformed into more of a "community" than a strict architectural concept. They highlight that the term Jamstack has been abandoned by Netlify in favor of "composable web." The article questions whether the Jamstack community still exists after the closure of the Discord server and the absence of a central steward. The author emphasizes the importance of communication and connection in forming a community and expresses concerns about the potential deepening siloing of developers around specific tools. While the impact on developers' work may be minimal, the author anticipates a shift away from using the term Jamstack and the need for new terminology to describe the evolving landscape of full-stack web development using JavaScript. ## Bullet Points: - Netlify recently shut down The Jamstack Community Discord due to declining activity and engagement. - The term Jamstack has transformed into more of a "community" than a strict set of architectural rules. - The Jamstack community is characterized by overlapping interests in tools, services, strategies, and architectures used in web development. - The closure of the Discord server raises questions about the existence of the Jamstack community. - A community is defined by communication and connection among professionals sharing common interests. - Tool-specific Discord servers cannot replace the broader connections that existed within the Jamstack community. - The absence of central stewardship and the closure of community events may lead to deeper siloing of developers around specific tools. - The author predicts a decreased use and identification with the term Jamstack, potentially leading to the need for new terminology. - Newsletters and events focusing on full-stack web development using JavaScript remain relevant despite the changes in the community. ## Paraphrase: 1. The article discusses the recent decision by Netlify to shut down The Jamstack Community Discord. The server's activity and engagement had been on the decline, leading to the decision to sunset it. Netlify emphasizes that this doesn't signify the end of the Jamstack community; instead, they want to focus on vibrant and active areas within the community, such as various projects and other communities doing exceptional work on the web. While the post mentions alternative communities, most of them are specific to particular tools, except for The New Dynamic slack community, which has been active for some time. 2. Over the years, the definition of Jamstack has evolved to adapt to new tools, services, and platform features. The author previously described Jamstack as more of a "community" rather than a rigid architectural concept. This community encompasses diverse approaches and strategies, all sharing common interests in a set of tools, services, and architectures related to web development. Despite the vague and non-prescriptive nature of the definition, there is immense value in being part of this Jamstack community, gaining valuable insights and knowledge applicable to one's own projects. The author had expressed similar views on The Shop Talk Podcast in February. However, with recent developments, the conclusion about Jamstack's definition and community might need revisiting. ### Conclusion: The article addresses Netlify's closure of The Jamstack Community Discord, leading to questions about the continuity of the Jamstack community. Jamstack has evolved from being strictly defined by architectural rules to becoming more of a community centered around shared interests and tools. Communication and connection among professionals were crucial in forming this community. The closure of key community spaces like the Discord server, meetups, and events raises concerns about the potential fragmentation of developers into tool-specific silos. While the impact on developers' work might be minimal, the usage of the term "Jamstack" is likely to decline, necessitating the exploration of new terminologies. Despite this, newsletters and events focusing on full-stack web development using JavaScript remain relevant. ### Questions: 1. What were the reasons behind Netlify's decision to shut down The Jamstack Community Discord, and what could have been done differently to revitalize the community? 2. How has the definition of Jamstack evolved over the years, and what were the key factors influencing this transformation? 3. What defines a community, and how does communication and connection play a role in turning a group of professionals into a cohesive community like the Jamstack community? 4. How might the closure of the Discord server and other community spaces impact the level of collaboration and knowledge-sharing among developers using Jamstack-related tools? 5. With the term "Jamstack" potentially losing popularity, what implications does this have for developers and the broader web development ecosystem? 6. What are some alternative terminologies that could replace "Jamstack," and how might they better capture the evolving landscape of full-stack web development with JavaScript? 7. How can developers ensure that they continue to gain valuable insights and knowledge from a community perspective despite the changes in the Jamstack community? ### Auto-tagging: Jamstack, Netlify, Discord, Community, Architecture, Web development, JavaScript, Communication, Connection, Siloing ### Index Creation: - Jamstack: 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 - Netlify: 1, 4, 6 - Discord: 1, 4, 6 - Community: 1, 4, 5, 7 - Architecture: 1, 3, 7 - Web development: 1, 4, 6 - JavaScript: 6 - Communication: 1, 3, 7 - Connection: 1, 3, 7 - Siloing: 7 ### Table of Contents: 1. Introduction 2. The Closure of The Jamstack Community Discord - Reasons behind the decision - Impact on the Jamstack community 3. The Evolution of Jamstack - From architectural rules to a community - Overlapping interests and tools 4. What Defines a Community? - Communication and connection - Challenges in maintaining community bonds 5. The Implications of Discord Closure - Fragmentation into tool-specific silos - The importance of broader connections 6. The Future of Jamstack Terminology - Decline of the "Jamstack" term - Exploring alternative terminologies 7. Relevance of Newsletters and Events - Focusing on full-stack web development with JavaScript 8. Conclusion 9. Thought-Provoking Questions 10. Auto-Tagging Index 11. References 12. Future Research 13. Hypotheses 14. Methodology 15. Implications 16. Logical Validity ### References: [Provide a list of sources and references consulted for this article.] ### Future Research: 1. Investigate the specific factors contributing to the decline of activity and engagement in The Jamstack Community Discord and explore potential strategies for revitalization. 2. Conduct a comprehensive analysis of the evolution of Jamstack over the years, including the introduction of new tools, services, and platform features, and how they have influenced the community's definition. 3. Examine case studies of successful communities in the tech industry to identify best practices for fostering communication and connection among professionals with common interests. 4. Explore the potential impact of fragmented tool-specific communities on knowledge-sharing and collaboration among developers and assess ways to bridge the gaps between them. 5. Conduct surveys and interviews to gauge developers' perceptions of the term "Jamstack" and identify their preferences for alternative terminologies that better represent the current web - Document Tags: [[community management]] [[jamstack]] - Summary: Do recent changes mean the end of the term Jamstack? Unfortunately, it looks like a yes. - URL: https://remotesynthesis.com/blog/goodbye-jamstack/ Earlier this week, Netlify officially killed The Jamstack Community Discord. It was a rather abrupt end, with little more than a week’s notice. Here’s a portion of the announcement: > Over time, we have noticed a decline in activity and engagement within the server. After careful consideration, we have come to the decision to sunset the Jamstack Discord. First and foremost, this does **not** mean the end of the Jamstack community. In fact, it is quite the opposite. We believe it’s important to focus our energy and resources on areas where our community remains vibrant and active, like in the various projects and other communities out there doing wonderful things on the web. Sunsetting the Jamstack Discord server will allow us to concentrate our efforts on those spaces, fostering stronger connections and having more meaningful conversations. > > The post ended with a list of other communities folks could join, but, with only one exception, they were all tool specific Discord servers for Astro, Eleventy, Next, SolidJS and Svelte. (The exception was [The New Dynamic slack community](https://slack.tnd.dev/) which, I seem to recall, has existed since before the term Jamstack and is still active.) More importantly, Netlify, the creator and stewards of the term Jamstack including it’s [canonical site](https://jamstack.org/), has largely abandoned the term as well, in favor of a “composable web” term that better aligns with their ambitions around becoming a broader enterprise platform including content (with tools like Netlify Connect). So, despite the post ending the Discord notes that the Jamstack community is not dead, is it actually? #### What was Jamstack in 2023? Every year for the past few years, I’ve written a post discussing what Jamstack is as we enter the year. This is because the definition has continued to shift to accommodate new tools, new services and new platform features. This past year, [I discussed](https://remotesynthesis.com/blog/jamstack-in-2023/) how recent changes to the definition had made it more vague leading me to the conclusion: > Jamstack has become more of a “community” than a set of architectural rules. > > I don’t say that to devalue it. > > This community builds things a thousand different ways but each of them have overlapping interests in a common sets of tools, services, strategies and architectures. I can read an article or [book about Jamstack](https://www.manning.com/books/the-jamstack-book), go to a [conference about Jamstack](https://thejam.dev/), join a meetup about Jamstack, get a [newsletter about Jamstack](https://jamstack.email/) and I know that I will gain information that is applicable to what I am building. There’s huge value in that, even if the definition is vague and not prescriptive in any manner. > > I made much the same argument on [The Shop Talk Podcast](https://shoptalkshow.com/554/) in February. But does that conclusion stand up today? Perhaps not. #### What defines community? It’s not that I am trying to overstate the importance of the Jamstack Discord. It is correct that activity and interaction had fallen off on that site (and spam had increased) ever since the community lost its full-time steward within Netlify. But this loss of a steward and subsequent inactivity were obviously symptomatic of larger problem and it is a problem that tool-specific Discord’s cannot fix. The most relevant [dictionary definition](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/community) of community is: > a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society > > But what ultimately turns a disparate group of professionals (i.e. developers) into a community (i.e. Jamstack community) is communication and connection. Everyone working within their own silos, even if they share common interests, does not make a community. And right now there is no means remaining of connecting those folks in whatever was once a Jamstack community. The meetups are dead, the conference appears to be gone (no 2023 date has been announced) and now the Discord is gone. Yes, many of these same people may be on the tool-specific communities, but what made them part of a larger Jamstack community was the connections beyond each specific tool. As I said earlier this year: > There are thousands of permutations of the above and no two sites may have the same stack or architecture, but there are clearly a bunch of overlapping interests for the developers building these sites regardless. For example, you may be using Nuxt while I use Eleventy, but I can still learn about using Supabase from/with you. > > This kind of connection can’t happen in an Astro or Nuxt or Eleventy specific community. #### What does this mean? Honestly, this is all ultimately has little impact on how developers do their jobs, whether they considered themselves Jamstack developers or not. But when it comes to those connections, it probably means a deepening siloing of developers around their specific tools. It likely also means that things like the books, events and other resources that tried to target the broader community across these tools are unlikely to continue as developers no longer use or identify with the term Jamstack. I, myself, will likely retire using the term anymore, even as I don’t have a replacement. I do think newsletters like [Jamstacked](https://jamstack.email/) (though probably with a new name) and events like [TheJam.dev](https://thejam.dev/) are still relevant for folks as they have recently tended to focus on full stack web development using JavaScript – so things like full-stack JavaScript ecosystem frameworks/tools and serverless and edge computing, none of which have become less relevant. We’ll see how this continues to evolve and whether new terminology is created or even needed. Goodbye, Jamstack. It was a fun., Is Jamstack Officially Finished?, Brian Rinaldi, 01h6bxp6qk2jdxza2kgc4r4bcr.