Taking part in discussions

Effective communication makes our community more valuable for everyone. Following these principles helps ensure your messages get the attention they deserve and contribute to building our shared knowledge base.

Key principles:

  • Do not double post. Select the best channel for your message and post it only once. Posting the same message in multiple channels creates noise and fragments the discussion.
  • Avoid asking questions in DM. If you ask your question in a public channel, others will also benefit from the answers. Public discussions create a knowledge base that helps the entire community.
  • Use threads. Threads help keep discussions organized and make it easier to follow conversations, especially in active channels.

Thread best practices

  • Put everything in one message. Don’t break your question into multiple messages. This makes it easier for others to understand the full context at once.
  • Use threads for long content. For long questions, write a few sentences in the first message to provide context, then put the rest in a thread. This keeps the main channel readable and scannable.
  • Put code in threads. If there’s a code snippet (more than 5 lines of code), put it inside the thread. This prevents long code blocks from cluttering the main channel.
  • Use “also send to channel” sparingly. Avoid using this feature unless it’s really necessary. Most thread replies don’t need to appear in the main channel.
  • Separate multiple questions. If your question contains multiple distinct questions, break them into separate messages so each can be answered in its own thread.

Additional tips

  • Provide context when sharing links. Don’t just share a link and expect others to jump in. Share your thoughts, explain why it’s interesting or relevant, and include a clear question in your message. “Any thoughts on this?” is not a clear question - be specific about what you’d like to discuss.
  • Be concise. While it’s important to provide context, try to be concise in your questions when possible. Not everyone has time to read lengthy messages. If you need to provide extensive background, use the thread approach mentioned above.
  • Don’t delete answered questions. Your question and its answer will help others who might have a similar problem. This builds our community knowledge base.