# CSE 403 Slack policies

This document outlines the Slack communication policies and guidelines for CSE 403.

## 0. Use Slack.

We use Slack for all class-related communication, except for
sensitive information pertaining to an individual educational record
(which should be communicated via UW email).
Slack was designed as a *replacement* for workplace emails -- expect information
and announcements from us to come through Slack.

Since it's much easier to keep everything in one place, we encourage you to
(1) communicate to each other through Slack,
(2) reflect on what works well and what does not, and
(3) refine your project-team communication policies as you go.


## 1. Use channels.

Discussions belong in the appropriate channel. This makes finding
information you need easier and more predictable, and keeps conversations
from getting overwhelming. We may delete off-topic messages.

Here is a summary of the default channels for CSE 403:

- `#announcements`: announcements from the CSE 403 staff.

- `#lectures`: Q&A for lectures (e.g., clarification questions about slides, live
  demos, etc.).
  **Please star this channel for easy access during lectures.**

- `#questions-technical`: Q&A for general technical questions that are of broader
  interest (please put team-specific questions into your team channel).

- `#questions-nontechnical`: Q&A for general non-technical and logistical
  questions (e.g., clarifications of instructions and deadlines.)

- `#team-search`: discussions related to forming project teams (this includes
  clarification questions about project proposals and finding team members).

- `#random`: relevant xkcd strips or memes or things of that nature.
  (Definitely share those; keep up the spirit :))


## 2. Use threads.

Always try to reply to a post in that post's thread. This keeps channels from
getting swamped with messages, and is yet another way to make finding relevant
information easier and more predictable.
This rule is more important the larger the channel, and consequently relaxes as
you get into smaller channels (for example it's not as necessary in your
team-specific channel(s)).


## 3. Know your notifications settings.

Make sure your notification settings are what you think they are, and they make
sense for how often you check Slack. (By default you won't receive notifications
unless something mentions (@s) you directly.)

## Tips:

### Mentioning
If you `@` someone, this will generally override their notification settings and
notify them.

### Reactions
It's good practice to phrase questions in a way that can be answered by
reaction, and to react to messages liberally.

### Custom Reactions
You can upload images to make custom reactions, and it's usually pretty fun to
do that.