Slack Netiquette and Best Practices
Published: 2022-05-29 14:50:24

### Table of contents:
* [No Hello 👋](#no-hello)
* [Less Messages ↩️](#less-messages)
* [Always* Reply in Thread 💬](#thread-reply)
* [Channels Privacy 🔒](#channels-privacy)
* [#general 🆚 #random](#general-vs-random)
* [Be Generous with Emoji Reactions 🙂](#emoji-generosity)
* [Add a Profile Photo 🧑‍🎤](#profile-photo)

## No Hello 👋 <a name="no-hello"></a>

Slack is foremost async (as opposed to a phone call or a face to face meeting).
So greeting "_Hi!_" and waiting for someone to respond before actually asking your question is counterproductive for both of you.
We're definitely not against politeness - just string both parts together, for example: "_Hola! Are we compliant with WCAG level A?_"
Learn more: https://nohello.net/, https://nohello.club/, https://no-hello.com/...

## Less Messages ↩️ <a name="less-messages"></a>

When writing more than one paragraph, don't send them as separate messages.

Why?

- In a teeming chat, fragmented messages might get scattered around other members' messages, therefore harder to follow
- Someone might not notice you're still typing and ask you a question regarding your first paragraph which you're already about to answer in the second one
- Fragmented messages cause unnecessary notifications (and some of us would rather not mute certain channels)

You can:

- Either press `shift-Enter` to start a new line within the same message
- Or better yet, change your preferences so plain `Enter` *always* starts a new line
(and use `⌘-Enter` (Mac) or `ctrl-Enter` (Windows) to send)
![In Slack preferences you can set what pressing Enter does](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/2sxle33bo8r0n5ny6w9u.png)

## Always* Reply in Thread 💬 <a name="thread-reply"></a>

👎 Replying in a 'main' message triggers a notification for all channel members.

👍 Replying in a thread triggers a notification only for members who also replied to it.

This not only reduces noise, but also allows for better organized discussions.

(* it's less of an issue in a direct chat with someone)

## Channels Privacy 🔒 <a name="channels-privacy"></a>

When creating a new channel:

- If **sensitive** information will be discussed in it (anything that relates to customers, investors, prospect employees, etc.) - set it to **private**. If in doubt - set it to **private**.
- Only if no such information will be discussed (book club, basketball team, lan party, etc.) - it's probably okay to leave it as **public**.

While we're on this subject: don't discuss sensitive information via WhatsApp.

## #general 🆚 #random <a name="general-vs-random"></a>

The #general channel is meant for company-wide announcements (e.g. "_There's an electricity maintenance at the office at 19:00_", "_Next month we're hosting a meetup - save the date!_", and so on).

\#general is the only channel you *cannot* leave. Once the company gets big enough, we might restrict who can post to it.

On the other hand, the #random channel is the digital equivalent of a water cooler conversation - meant for casual stuff, non-work related, nerdy humor, etc.

## Be Generous with Emoji Reactions 🙂 <a name="emoji-generosity"></a>

In 2014 Slack added 'read receipts' (arguably their most requested feature) to their backlog:
{% embed https://twitter.com/SlackHQ/status/504407968150851585 %}

Year after year, they kept postponing it. Until 2018 when they actively decided against it:
{% embed https://twitter.com/SlackHQ/status/1049795604166127616 %}

So if you read a message like "_Today's all-hands meeting will be held 30 minutes earlier_", nobody can tell whether you read it or not, so it's a good citizenship to react with an emoji (👍, 👌, etc.) to signal you actually did.

## Add a Profile Photo 🧑‍🎤 <a name="profile-photo"></a>

Slack’s default avatars are... uninspiring:
![Unidentified person silhouette](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/dgx6jjki6ltf709l1p5k.png)
![First letter of name](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/9cm1s9ci11ld42pdk44n.png) 
An actual photo is great, but any picture can add a personal touch and will help everyone with the #1 general netiquette rule: remember the human.
![Amnon's avatar](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/su1a8j1fulgr7bx374rb.png)