Bridges are one of the reasons Matrix is called Matrix: let’s matrix all the networks together! They are key to onboard new users into the network. However, maintaining and operating bridges, in particular to closed, proprietary platforms, is expensive: they need to be kept up to date with any change made by the platform on a regular basis and they’re fiddly to keep up and running.

The Matrix.org Foundation has been hosting a free of charge Slack bridge for users of the matrix.org server for several years. The code of the bridge belongs to the Foundation, hosted under its GitHub workspace, but the bulk of the maintenance was done by Element. Maintaining and operating bridges to closed, proprietary platforms such as Slack comes at a high cost, both financially and in terms of reliability as they are subject to change without notice. The bridge has been unmaintained for some time now, and this has led to degraded functionality and inconsistent performance for users. While we understand that some people still find it useful in certain cases, it is not right to continue providing a service that we know does not meet the standards expected of matrix.org.

This is why, without enough customers paying for it and despite the efforts of the community trying to help, Element will not continue to maintain this bridge. As a result, the Foundation will no longer provide this service to matrix.org users. We want to thank Element for all these years of graciously maintaining a bridge for us.