Propose deprecation of Eclipse Scala IDE

proposals/033-deprecate-scala-ide.md

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+---
+date: August 2024
+---
+
+# Deprecate Eclipse Scala IDE
+
+## Proposer
+
+Proposed by Zainab Ali, Community Representative, 14th May 2024.
+
+## Abstract
+
+The Eclipse Scala IDE integration at https://scala-ide.org/ is no longer maintained. Its last release was in 2018.
+
+However, it is the first search result for "Scala IDE" on prominent search engines, so is arguably the most discoverable IDE for newcomers. This can be seen on [duckduckgo](https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=scala+IDE&ia=web).
+
+This results a poor experience for new Scala users.
+
+## Proposal
+
+A deprecation notice sould be added to the Scala IDE website. This should recommend Eclipse users to use Metals. For example:
+```
+The Scala IDE project is no longer maintained. The recommended IDE integration for Eclipse is now Metals. Follow [this guide](link-to-guide) to set it up.
+```
+
+A guide for setting up Eclipse with Scala should be added to [Metals](https://scalameta.org/metals/docs/) or the [Getting started](https://docs.scala-lang.org/getting-started/index.html#with-an-ide) page.
+
+A `noindex` mechanism should be added to `scala-ide.org` to prevent search engines from listing it.
+
+## Cost
+
+In level of difficulty I estimate the following order (from easiest to
+hardest):
+
+1. Adding a deprecation notice to the Scala IDE website.
+2. Adding a noindex mechanism to `scala-ide.org` .
+3. Adding guidance on Eclipse setup to Metals and the Getting Started page.
+
+## Timescales
+
+It is assumed that the Scala Center has ownership over the Scala IDE project, or contact with the project organizers.
+
+If so, all tasks could be done quickly.