Team Practices Group/Team Norms/IRC Norms
The Team Practices Group (TPG) was dissolved in 2017.
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Team Practices Group Norms for IRC
[edit]Note that other teams (which TPG members work closely with) may have entirely different norms.
Recommended uses of IRC
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]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