Interview question bank
This page is for interviewers: journalists, podcast hosts, video creators and student reporters. Each question comes with the background the documentation already gives, so you can skip what is answered and ask what is not. These are questions, not answers; nothing on this page is a statement by 7x or the Foundation.
Contents
- How to use this bank
- History and motivation
- Two organizations
- Releases and the road ahead
- Product and technology
- Security and trust
- Community, funding and open source
- Questions that need care
How to use this bank
Pick five to eight questions. Read the background column first: if the documentation already answers it, cite the documentation and use your time for the follow-up. Open questions are marked open.
History and motivation
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| Why keep a code base alive after its creator discontinued it? | "Exponential has made it beyond it's end of life in 2021 and survived" (README, quoted in Who is 7x?). The reasons are open |
| What happened in the three stages, 2014, 2022 and December 2023? | From Brookins Consulting to 7x; the story behind each stage is open |
| Why the name Exponential? | The project page cites a request from Ibexa, effective August 2025 (Why the product is called Exponential); how the name was chosen is open |
| What was hardest about moving the code to current PHP? | PHP 7 support ended with 6.0.7; PHP 8.5 arrived in December 2025 (history); the experience is open |
Two organizations
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| How do 7x and the Foundation divide the work? | 7x "leads development"; the Foundation "operates the project; funds and directs it" (The Foundation and 7x) |
| Who sits on the Foundation's board, and how is it governed? | Open: "who sits on the Foundation's board, how it is governed, whether it has members besides its supporters, and what its budget is" are not answered (What the sources do not say) |
| What are the Foundation's goals for 2026? | Its site mentions "a long detailed list of growth goals", but "the list itself is not on the page" (The Foundation's site) |
| Why found a nonprofit in 2026? | Founding date and place are documented; the reasons are open |
Releases and the road ahead
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| When will 6.0.15 be released? | No date is published (6.0.15 changelog). Any answer is the speaker's statement, not a fact |
| How do you decide when a line is ready to tag? | Open |
| Will there be an Exponential 7? | Open; no source mentions one |
| Why do version numbers keep counting in the last position? | Documented as a rule (How version numbers work); the reasoning is partly open |
Product and technology
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| Who is Exponential for today? | Who is the Exponential Foundation?, Which product is for you |
| Why build a web server (Velocity) in PHP? | What it does is documented (Covering Velocity releases); the decision is open |
| Why does the writing assistant write drafts only? | The design is documented (Talking points: Exponential Intelligence); the reasoning is open |
| Why six databases, including SQLite and MongoDB? | Database support; the motivation is open |
Security and trust
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| How are security reports handled? | SECURITY.md: private reports, first answer "within one business day" |
| Do you publish advisories or CVE identifiers? | Open; SECURITY.md does not mention them |
| What did the 2026 hardening rounds find? | 6.0.13 changelog, August 2026 |
Community, funding and open source
| Question | Background in the sources |
|---|---|
| How is the project funded? | "funded by donations of time and resources by 7x (and Exponential Sponsors)" (The Foundation and 7x); amounts are open |
| Why merge every pull request? | Documented as a rule (How the project grows); the reasoning is open |
| How many people use Exponential? | Open; no source counts installations or users (Claims you must not make) |
| What do you owe Netgen, Mugo Web and CJW Network? | Contributors and friends of the project |
Questions that need care
- About other companies. Ask about Exponential's own choices, not for opinions on eZ Systems or Ibexa; Exponential "is not associated with" them (Who is 7x?).
- About customers. Customers may be named only with their consent; do not press for names.
- About individuals. Ask about roles, not private lives; print personal details only with consent.
- Answers with numbers. Ask "where can readers check that?" and print the source with the number (Verifying numbers).
Related pages
- Preparing a briefing
- Requesting an interview
- Attributing statements
- Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.
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