Make slack work

TL;DR: Skip the "hello" and ask your question. Use channels, not DMs. If you need a response and didn't get one, follow up—it's your job, not mine. Don't call me unless production is broken or someone's having a stroke. Any thread longer than 10 messages back and forth, convert it into a call and put an end to it.

Just Ask the Question

Don't send "Hey, are you there?" and wait. Just ask your question. "Hi! I'm having trouble with the staging deploy. Any ideas?" saves everyone time.

Channels Over DMs

If someone else might benefit from seeing the conversation, put it in a channel. Can't find the right channel? Use #general. Knowledge in DMs dies in DMs. I might not even check DMs.

Follow Up If You Need Me

I might miss your message. I might read it and forget to respond. If you need an answer and didn't get one, ping me again. It's not rude—it's how async work works. Don't wait for me to magically remember all pending items.

Meetings

When some conversation on text feels longer than it should, schedule a call and set up minutes of meeting later. Any decisions being made in the call can become actionable.

Don't Call on Phone

Unless production is on fire or office is on fire, please don't call my phone. We have Slack calls, huddles, and Zoom for everything else.

These aren't hard rules. They're just patterns that make remote work less painful for everyone.