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2 | 2 |
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3 | 3 | [![Image of Slack][producti]][product] |
4 | 4 |
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5 | | -We use Slack to stay in touch with each other no matter where we are physically. It’s a great tool, and the following outlines a few tips to keep Slack useful—and navigable–for everyone. |
| 5 | +We use Slack to stay in touch with each other no matter where we are physically. It’s a great tool, and the following outlines a few tips to keep Slack useful—and navigable–for everyone. More information on how we use Slack at Sparkbox can be found in Google Drive by searching "Slack Guide." |
6 | 6 |
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7 | 7 | [product]: https://slack.com/ |
8 | 8 | [producti]: http://i.imgur.com/0u1iR8W.png |
9 | | - |
10 | | -## Channels |
11 | | - |
12 | | -Slack allows us to create channels to talk to everyone at once: think "chat room". |
13 | | - |
14 | | -### #general & #random |
15 | | - |
16 | | -By default slack has two channels, #general and #random, and all users are added. While #general is a place to talk about work related stuff, #random is a scary place of pure randomness. |
17 | | - |
18 | | -### Sparkbox channels |
19 | | -Official "Sparkbox Sanctioned" channels begin with a `-`. See the note on prefixes below. |
20 | | - |
21 | | -##### #-awesomeness |
22 | | -A channel for sharing awesome notes about coworkers. |
23 | | - |
24 | | -##### #-biz |
25 | | -A place for **bizBot** to keep Sparkbox informed about business development. |
26 | | - |
27 | | -##### #-conferences |
28 | | -The channel for sharing interesting conferences, Call for Speakers, and planning the conference you'd like to attend. |
29 | | - |
30 | | -##### #-dayton & #-pittsburgh |
31 | | -Channels to discuss office-specific happenings, such as lunch plans. |
32 | | - |
33 | | -##### #-gems |
34 | | -A collection of quotations from your Sparkbox community, curated in part by **gem-me-bot**. Share a gem publicly with the `:earth-americas:` reaction, or hide it from the public eye with the `:x:` response. There's even [a Foundry article](https://seesparkbox.com/foundry/sparkbox_gems) if you'd like to learn more. |
35 | | - |
36 | | -##### #-know-your-company |
37 | | -A place to discuss fun facts about coworkers, along with weekly KYC email answers. |
38 | | - |
39 | | -##### #-sparkbox-pride |
40 | | -Share your Sparkbox Pride, generally in photo form. |
41 | | - |
42 | | -### Public Channels |
43 | | - |
44 | | -Additional channels have been created which any member of the Sparkbox team can join at any time. These channels cover a range of topics from discussion on design, to video games, to weekly lunches. Any member of the team can start a new channel or join an existing one. |
45 | | - |
46 | | -### Creating New Channels |
47 | | - |
48 | | -There are obvious times to create a new channel, such as when a new client engagement starts. There are also not as obvious times. When deciding to create a new channel, ask yourself these questions: |
49 | | -- Is this channel new and not covered by any existing channels? Have I asked in #general if a similar channel exists? |
50 | | -- Will this channel reduce ongoing unrelated clutter in another channel? |
51 | | - |
52 | | -After you create a new channel, be sure to set a clear, concise channel purpose so that other Sparkboxers can easily understand what the channel is discussing. |
53 | | - |
54 | | -**Note: Public over Private** should be the default. Even if you feel the topic is only of interest to a small number of people, consumer filtering is preferred over producer filtered content. This allows everyone to see how and why decisions are made. Just like an open-source GitHub repo. Similarly, if you have a question for one person regarding a project or a technology that might be relevant to someone else on the team, consider asking that question in the proper public channel rather than a DM. |
55 | | - |
56 | | -### Naming Conventions |
57 | | - |
58 | | -#### Rule #1 |
59 | | -hyphens-not-underscores |
60 | | - |
61 | | -#### Rule #2 |
62 | | -all-lower-case |
63 | | - |
64 | | -#### Rule #3 |
65 | | -Including the year in a title name is generally unnecessary. This sets up a short-lived channels mindset. If you do find it necessary to set up one of those, it would be wise to go ahead and set up a calendar reminder to kill it when you likely know its usefulness would run out. |
66 | | - |
67 | | -#### Rule #4 |
68 | | -prefix-appropriately |
69 | | - |
70 | | -- `-` Important, common channels for everyone. |
71 | | -The `-` ensures they go to the top of the channel list. A channel should get this prefix if everyone at Sparkbox would likely find value in belonging to it. *Example: `-biz`.* |
72 | | -- `int-` Client Projects, "internal" Sparkboxer-only channels. |
73 | | -- `ext-` Client Projects, "external" channels that may include the client team. |
74 | | -- `temp-` Channels with a temporary purpose. You need something larger than a DM but it won’t be a permanent channel (example: conferences, Maker Series, etc.). Perhaps set up a calendar reminder to delete your channel later. |
75 | | - |
76 | | -### Pruning Channels |
77 | | - |
78 | | -Channels can quickly become unruly and difficult to navigate. We’ve recognized two reasons to archive a channel: |
79 | | - |
80 | | -- Redundancy: If two or more channels serve the same purpose, then decide on the one that is most popular/used, and delete the others. |
81 | | -- Unused: If a channel has gone silent, then a vote will be called and requires three* people voting :hand: in order to keep the channel. If less than three people vote to keep the channel, then it should be archived. |
82 | | - |
83 | | -Unless a channel is redundant, the default action will be to archive it, because channels can be unarchived very easily. Since archived channels don’t shown in the channel listing, archiving is a safe way to remove visual clutter and cut down on searching while still leaving the option to resurrect that channel later. |
84 | | - |
85 | | -#### garbage_bot |
86 | | - |
87 | | -The bot user, @garbage_bot is a tool created by Patrick Simpson to identify unused channels on a quarterly basis. It will notify #random with a list of channels flagged for review. |
88 | | - |
89 | | -## Etiquette |
90 | | -#### `@everyone`, `@channel`, or `@group` |
91 | | -Try using `@here` to only notify online, desktop users. Alternatively, `@dayton` is useful to target only those in the Dayton office, or `@pittsburgh` for the Pittsburgh office. In any case, be respectful of the many people who will receive notifications, often to mobile devices on nightstands. |
92 | | - |
93 | | -#### Code of Conduct |
94 | | -All Sparkbox employees are expected to follow the [Sparkbox Code of Conduct](../../culture) while participating in Slack. Treat it as you would physical office space. |
95 | | - |
96 | | -## Direct Messages |
97 | | - |
98 | | -Not all conversations have to be public. If you need to say something in private you can send a direct message, think Instant Messenger. |
99 | | - |
100 | | -## Notifications |
101 | | - |
102 | | -Get notified when someone mentions you in conversation, sends you a direct message or setup a list of keywords to be notified when someone mentions something important, like ping pong. |
103 | | - |
104 | | - |
105 | | - |
106 | | -### Twitter |
107 | | - |
108 | | -Slack really likes to keep everyone in the loop so it shares Twitter notifications. When someone mentions [@hearsparkbox](https://twitter.com/hearsparkbox) on Twitter it shows up in the General channel for all Sparkboxers to see. |
109 | | - |
110 | | -## The App |
111 | | - |
112 | | -We can stay in the loop even when we are out of the office with the [mobile app](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/slack-team-communication/id618783545?mt=8). |
113 | | - |
114 | | -## Sparkbot |
115 | | - |
116 | | -Sparkbot is available for a number of helpful tasks. Direct message `@sparkbot` with `help` to see a full list of commands. |
117 | | - |
118 | | -### Resources |
119 | | -- [Slack’s Guide to Managing Slack](https://slackhq.com/how-to-manage-your-slack-channels-38801ef651f2#.eo5pulg6t) |
120 | | -- [Ember Slack Naming Conventions](https://github.com/cromwellryan/embercommunity-slack-guidelines#creating-new-channels) |
121 | | -- [Fugue’s Slack](https://blog.fugue.co/2016-03-29-it-s-not-all-unicorns-and-rainbows-managing-slack-for-productivity.html) |
122 | | -- [Controlled Vocabulary](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_vocabulary) |
123 | | -- [Controlled Vocabulary at Microsoft](Controlled Vocabulary at Microsoft) |
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