Team Practices Group/Team Norms/IRC Norms

The Team Practices Group (TPG) was dissolved in 2017.

Team Practices Group Norms for IRC

Note that other teams (which TPG members work closely with) may have entirely different norms.

Recommended uses of IRC

• Unessential chit-chat
  • Use the #wikimedia-teampractices channel
• Trying to quickly get a hold of someone (not guaranteed to work)
  • If one person, favor direct messaging
  • If multiple people, use the #wikimedia-teampractices channel

Expected behavior

• TPG members should try to be available on IRC during work hours
• Nobody is expected to read general channel scrollback
• If any substantive discussions happen in IRC (which they generally shouldn’t), then any decisions or interesting notes should be archived in email, wiki, or Phab

Risks/Drawbacks/Limitations

• IRC statuses may not reflect reality
• Not everyone will see offline alerts later (even if they have a bouncer)
• If the recipient doesn’t respond, assume they didn’t see the message
• The #wikimedia-teampractices channel is public and logged

Alternatives to IRC

Consider using one of these communication channels instead:

• email:
  • for longer form please consider adding a TL;DR
  • subject line should be tagged to help responder to prioritize the request
  • is asynchronous
  • is archived in a very accessible way
• Phab:
  • for logging work to track, preferably with requirements and definitions of DONE
• Video chat/telephone/in person for urgent matters
  • sensitive topics where visual/audio cues can help de-escalate issues, prevent misunderstandings, etc
  • for in-depth synchronous discussion

This document was created in response to T106711