Thank you for joining our community! We hope you’ll like it here.
DataTalks.Club is a place to talk, learn, discuss, and share. To ensure our discussions remain organized, productive, and welcoming for everyone, we’ve established these community guidelines. Please take a moment to review them—they’ll help you get the most out of your experience here.
Table of contents
Code of conduct
Our community is built on mutual respect, kindness, and a shared passion for data science. Be respectful and remember that there’s a human on the other side of the screen.
While we don’t have our own separate code of conduct, we follow the Python Software Foundation’s Code of Conduct. Please read the “Inappropriate Behavior” section to understand what we consider unacceptable.
In addition to the behaviors outlined in the Python Software Foundation’s code, here are specific examples of inappropriate behavior in our community:
- Judging the question or the person asking the question (“this is a stupid question and everyone who can read docs knows the answer”)
- Soliciting any kind of personal information (such as marital status, sexual orientation, phone number, address, income, etc)
- Asking for personal or professional details in DM (such as location, current job, or skills)
- Asking people to share their profiles (such as LinkedIn or Upwork)
- Offering collaboration in DM without prior public communication
- Continuing one-on-one communication after requests to cease
Channels
Our Slack workspace is organized into channels to keep discussions focused and easy to find. Using the right channel helps ensure your message reaches the right people and keeps our workspace organized.
Why channels matter: When you post in the appropriate channel, you’re more likely to get helpful responses from people who are interested in that topic. For example, instead of asking a machine learning question in #general, post it in #datascience where ML enthusiasts actively participate.
Default channels
These channels are available to all members and serve as the primary spaces for community interaction:
#announcements— Community-wide announcements and important updates#general— General discussions that don’t fit into specific topic channels#events— Sharing interesting events (including events that you organize)#interesting-content— Sharing interesting content (blog posts, videos, etc. - including your own content)#shameless-social— Promoting your posts on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)#shameless-promotion— Promoting other things that don’t fit into the three categories above
Note: For detailed information about promoting your work, see the Promotion section below.
Topic-specific channels
These channels focus on specific areas of discussion. Use them to connect with people interested in the same topics:
#book-of-the-week— Discuss books with book authors (check the books page for more information)#career-questions— Career discussions (switching roles, professional development, workplace challenges, etc.)#datascience— Data science, machine learning, algorithms, training processes, and ML-related libraries#engineering— Engineering aspects of data science: data engineering, ML engineering, MLOps, infrastructure, etc.#events— Events (not just our events, but events in other communities as well)#jobs— Job postings and career opportunities#random— Casual chit-chat about pretty much anything
Note: This is not a complete list of channels. New channels may be created as the community grows. To see all available channels in Slack, you can browse them in the Slack sidebar or follow these instructions.
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
Threads are essential for keeping our channels organized. Here’s how to use them effectively:
- 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 and makes it easier for others to scroll through.
- Use “also send to channel” sparingly: Avoid using the “also send to channel” feature unless it’s really necessary. Most thread replies don’t need to appear in the main channel—people following the thread will see them.
- Separate multiple questions: If your question contains multiple distinct questions, break them into separate messages so each can be answered in its own thread. This makes it easier for people to respond to specific parts.
Additional discussion tips
- Provide context when sharing links: If you want to start a discussion, 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: Don’t delete your question after you receive an answer. Your question and its answer will help others who might have a similar problem. This builds our community knowledge base and makes the workspace more valuable for everyone.
Asking for help
If you get stuck, our Slack community is the right place to ask for help. Our members are generally happy to assist, but following these guidelines will make it much easier for others to help you effectively.
Avoid meta questions
What are meta questions? Meta questions are questions about asking questions (e.g., “Can I ask a question about X?”). They add an unnecessary step and delay getting the help you need.
The golden rule: Don’t ask to ask, just ask. If you have a question, post it directly in the appropriate channel. The people who can help will see it and respond.
Examples of meta questions to avoid:
- ❌ “Can I ask a question about data science here?”
- ✅ Just ask your data science question directly. That’s what this Slack exists for!
- ❌ “Is there anyone who knows marketing? I have a question about it.”
- ✅ Just ask your marketing question directly. If someone knows the answer, they’ll respond.
- ❌ “Has anyone done Machine Learning Zoomcamp? I have a question about it.”
- ✅ Just ask your question about Machine Learning Zoomcamp. If someone has done it, they’ll answer.
- The same principle applies to books, courses, tools, and anything else—just ask your question directly.
Code problems and errors
When something doesn’t work and you need help figuring it out, we’ll be happy to help. To get the best assistance quickly, please follow these recommendations:
- Use threads for errors: When you have a problem, first describe the problem briefly in the main channel, then put the actual error message and code in a thread. This keeps the main channel readable and makes it easier for helpers to see both your description and the error together.
- Copy-paste text, don’t screenshot: Don’t take screenshots of your code or terminal output. Instead, copy-paste the error message and code as text. Use code blocks (three backticks: ```) to format your code. Text is searchable, easier to read, and allows helpers to copy your code if needed. Screenshots are difficult to read and impossible to copy from.
- Never photograph your screen: Please don’t take pictures of your code with a phone. It’s even harder to read than screenshots. Always copy-paste text. In rare cases when you need to show what happens on your screen visually (like a UI issue), a screenshot is acceptable, but code and errors should always be text.
Homework help
We’re generally happy to help with your homework, provided that you show genuine effort from your side and are transparent about the source of your question.
Key principles:
- Show your work: Don’t just copy-paste an exercise and expect others to solve it for you. Share what you’ve tried, what you understand, and where you’re stuck. If you don’t show effort, don’t be surprised if nobody answers.
- Be transparent: Clearly state that it’s a homework assignment. This helps people provide appropriate guidance (teaching concepts rather than just giving answers).
- Ask for guidance, not answers: Frame your question to ask for help understanding concepts or debugging your approach, rather than asking for the complete solution.
For more detailed guidance on asking homework questions effectively, consult this excellent guide from StackOverflow.
Note on interview take-home assignments: The same principles apply. We’re happy to help, but be transparent that it’s a take-home assignment. Focus on understanding concepts and debugging your approach rather than getting complete solutions.
Promotion
Promoting your work is welcome — for both companies and individuals. We believe that sharing valuable content, events, and tools benefits our entire community. However, to keep our workspace organized and ensure promotions add value rather than create noise, we have specific channels and guidelines for this.
Where to promote
We have four dedicated channels for promotions:
#events— for sharing events that you organize (webinars, conferences, workshops, etc.)#interesting-content— for sharing content you create (blog posts, videos, podcasts, articles, etc.)#shameless-social— for promoting your posts on social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)#shameless-promotion— for promoting other things that don’t fit into the three categories above (tools, services, courses, etc.)
How to promote effectively
To make sure the content you share is useful for community members, we ask you to follow our shameless post templates. These templates help you provide context, explain why your content is relevant, and make your posts more valuable to readers.
Important: Don’t use other channels for promoting your work. Promotional posts in non-promotion channels will be removed without a warning, and repeated violations will result in a ban.
Frequency of posts
Spamming Slack communities with content hoping to get clicks is not an effective strategy. It feels spammy, reduces the value of your posts, and can lead to people ignoring or muting your content entirely.
Posting limits: We ask you to limit your promotions to two posts per week per channel (across the four promotion channels listed above). This ensures your content gets attention while respecting the community’s time and attention.
Quality over quantity: One well-crafted, valuable post is far more effective than multiple low-effort posts. Take time to write a thoughtful message that explains why your content is relevant and valuable to the community. This approach builds trust and engagement.
Surveys, product discovery, and feedback requests
Messages that ask the community for feedback on your product, service, or tool are considered promotional and should be posted in #shameless-promotion. This includes:
- Surveys and research: Any requests to fill out surveys or participate in research
- Product feedback: Requests for feedback on products, tools, or services
- User interviews: Requests to talk to community members about their needs or pain points
- Beta testing: Invitations to test new products or features
Examples of promotional feedback requests:
- “We’re conducting a survey to better understand how people use
____.” - “We’d like to show you our product and get some feedback from you.”
- “We’re working on
____and would like to talk to data scientists and ML engineers to understand their pain points.” - “We’re working on a tool to do
____and we’re wondering if it’s useful.”
User research, product discovery, and feedback requests are all considered promotional content and must follow the same guidelines as other promotions.
Rules for vendors and company representatives
If you represent a company and suggest using your services or products when answering questions in the community, you must clearly indicate your affiliation. Transparency is essential—community members deserve to know when recommendations come from someone with a commercial interest.
Example: If someone asks about ML monitoring tools and you work for a company that provides such tools, you can recommend it, but you must clearly state your affiliation (e.g., “I work at [Company Name], and we offer [product] which might help…”).
Unsolicited promotions in DMs
We do not welcome unsolicited promotional messages in DMs. Violating this rule will result in a ban.
Why this matters: Unsolicited DMs feel invasive and spammy. They violate people’s privacy and create a negative experience. If someone wants to learn about your product or service, they’ll reach out to you after seeing your post in the appropriate channel.
What to do instead: Use the #shameless-promotion channel (or other appropriate promotion channels). If someone is interested in your product or service, they will reach out to you directly.
What counts as unsolicited promotion:
- Sending promotional messages about products or services via DM
- Mass-sending your CV or resume in DMs
- Promoting yourself and your services via DM
- Offering collaboration in DMs without prior public communication
Collaboration rule: If you want to collaborate with someone, first engage with them in public channels before reaching out via DM. This ensures the interaction is welcome and builds on an existing relationship.
If you receive unsolicited promotional DMs: Please report it to Alexey Grigorev. We take this seriously and will take action to protect the community.
Non-relevant promotions
The promotional content must be relevant to our data science community. It should be related to data science, machine learning, data engineering, analytics, or closely related fields. If it’s not relevant, don’t post it.
Why relevance matters: Our community members join to learn about and discuss data-related topics. Irrelevant promotions create noise and reduce the value of our workspace.
Examples of content not relevant for this community:
- COVID surveys for $5 (unless specifically about data science/ML applications)
- Coupon codes for lawn mowers, pizzas, or other unrelated products
- Photoshop alternatives or general design tools
- Databases with contact information (unless for data science purposes)
- General sales tools unrelated to data
- Wellness apps unrelated to data science
- General business services with no data science connection
Such messages will be removed without a warning. Repeated posting of irrelevant content may result in a ban.
Jobs
If you’re looking for colleagues or posting job opportunities, use the #jobs channel. This helps job seekers find relevant opportunities and helps employers reach qualified candidates.
What to include in job posts
To make it easier for others to determine if a position is relevant for them, please include the following information:
- Location: City / Country
- Remote work: Possibility to work remotely (fully remote, hybrid, or on-site)
- Relocation support: Whether relocation support is available
- Job description link: A link to the full job description
- Contact details: How to apply or who to contact
Why this matters: Including this information upfront saves everyone time and helps candidates quickly determine if a position is a good fit for their situation.
Position relevance
Since we’re a data science community, please make sure the positions are related to data science, machine learning, data engineering, analytics, or software development (especially Python development).
Examples of relevant positions:
- Data analyst / Product analyst
- Data scientist
- Machine learning engineer
- Data engineer
- Analytics engineer
- ML/AI researcher
- Developer advocate (data/ML focus)
- Software engineer / Python developer (especially in data contexts)
- MLOps engineer
- Business intelligence analyst
Examples of positions not relevant for this community:
- Accountants and bookkeepers
- General marketing roles (unless data/analytics focused)
- Sales roles (unless technical/data-focused)
- General business administration roles
- Non-technical roles unrelated to data
Job posts for irrelevant positions will be removed. Repeated violations may result in restrictions on posting.