Questions to ask 7x #

This page is for journalists and podcasters preparing an interview with 7x. Read the public answers first (7x for reporters, Who is 7x?) and spend the interview on what they do not cover. Each group notes what is already documented.

Contents #

1. The company
2. The stewardship
3. Releases and plans
4. Products
5. Business and funding
6. Security and trust
7. Community
8. Before and after the interview

The company #

Already documented: the self-description, Brookins Consulting, the three stages (7x in three stages).

• Who should we name and quote for 7x, and with which role?
• How many people work on Exponential at 7x? (not published)
• What was the decisive moment between the idea in 2014 and the start in 2022?

The stewardship #

Already documented: December 2023, the first changes, 6.0.0 on 1 January 2024 (December 2023).

• Why take over a code base whose original developer had stopped?
• What was hardest in the first month?
• How do you decide what to modernize and what to keep for existing sites?

Releases and plans #

Already documented: the release list, the 6.0.15 changelog. Not documented: a release date for 6.0.15, a long-term roadmap with dates (What the sources do not say).

• When do you expect 6.0.15, and what decides that it is ready?
• How long will the 6.0 line be maintained?
• Is a 6.1 or 7 planned?

Products #

Already documented: what Velocity, Exponential Intelligence and Exponential Layouts do (Feature stories: index).

• Why write a web server in PHP rather than tune existing servers?
• Why does Exponential Intelligence never publish on its own? Was that a debate?
• Who is the Symfony line (Exponential Platform) for, compared with Exponential 6?

Business and funding #

Already documented: 7x sells services; the software is free; sponsor pages exist (Writing about funding and sponsors).

• What share of the work is funded by services, and what by sponsorship?
• What would more sponsorship change?
• How does 7x avoid conflicts between its business and the Foundation's project?

Security and trust #

Already documented: private reporting, first answer within one business day, published versions never change (Story: security).

• How many security reports have you received since 2023? (not published)
• Who reviews the code before it reaches the main branch?

Community #

Already documented: the channels, every pull request merged (Story: the community).

• Who outside 7x contributes most, and how can a newcomer start?
• Are events or meetups planned?

Before and after the interview #

• Send the topics in advance if your outlet allows it (Preparing a briefing).
• Record or take notes that let you quote word for word (Quotes policy).
• Check every number given in the interview against a source, or attribute it clearly (Verifying numbers).

Related pages #

• Questions to ask the Foundation
• Interview question bank
• Requesting an interview
• Free documentation: this page is free to copy, translate and improve under the GNU FDL 1.3.