TL;DR : don't use synchronous channels for asynchronous communication.
There is a continuum from real-time discursive to solid archived legally-binding documentation, with a whole nuanced palette in-between... But - everything in chatrooms, everything in mailing lists, everything in web forums, everything in ticketing, everything in a wiki, everything in IRC, everything in Slack: I've seen all those fads... When the only tool you have is a hammer etc.
I believe that the deeper problem is about the tool selection process - not just bottom-up vs. top-down but also the bonding produced by the community that forms around a tool and the way it emerges from peer opinion leaders... False consensus is easy to achieve and it becomes apparent once media fatigue begins to occur as practical pressure overcomes social pressure.
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TL;DR : don't use synchronous channels for asynchronous communication.
There is a continuum from real-time discursive to solid archived legally-binding documentation, with a whole nuanced palette in-between... But - everything in chatrooms, everything in mailing lists, everything in web forums, everything in ticketing, everything in a wiki, everything in IRC, everything in Slack: I've seen all those fads... When the only tool you have is a hammer etc.
I believe that the deeper problem is about the tool selection process - not just bottom-up vs. top-down but also the bonding produced by the community that forms around a tool and the way it emerges from peer opinion leaders... False consensus is easy to achieve and it becomes apparent once media fatigue begins to occur as practical pressure overcomes social pressure.