Where Is the Synchrotron Community Online
For a group of facilities that sit at the center of modern scientific progress, synchrotrons have a surprisingly quiet online presence. At least, that is how it looks from the outside and, more crucially, from the inside too. I sometimes wonder if I am simply missing the places where people gather, or if the community has grown up without a shared public space at all. It feels unusual compared to almost any other part of my life: cycling, baking, surfing, rockets. We are catered to and we contribute to all of these online. We are entertained and educated, amused, outrage baited, and given endless “news” articles that we happily consume. Many scientific fields have a natural home on the internet. Synchrotrons seem invisible to newcomers and to people working across the broader ecosystem. Small pockets exist, working groups, collaborators, Slack channels, but nothing that feels like the whole picture.
There are a few structures that give the impression of community, although none of them feel like the real thing. Lightsources.org is a good example. It is one of the most complete sources of announcements and stories, but it functions more like a broadcast channel than a gathering place. Conferences bring people together, although they are usually organised around techniques or specific research areas rather than the wider synchrotron world. Where is the beamline scientist conference where we celebrate how to best herd cats? Email lists and facility blasts work well for people already inside the network, but they reach only the people who already know to subscribe. Are we still reading emails? I keep asking myself if there is a public forum for beamline scientists, data engineers, roboticists, users, students and industry partners to contribute and consume. If it exists, I have not found it yet. If it does not, why not.
This leaves a strange gap. I want an MKBHD of new beamline equipment, I want r/synchrotrons to be a place I go to, I want memes. One of the most collaborative infrastructures in science has no obvious online gathering point, talking head or news outlet for the people who make it work. Ideas spread slowly and each facility grows its own conventions (even between beamlines at the same facility). I am curious if others see the same thing. Is there a community space I have missed? Does a global conversation already happen somewhere that newer scientists cannot see. Or is this simply a field that has not yet built its own public commons. If you know the answer or have ideas, it would be good to understand what exists and what is still missing.
