At GitLab, Slack is critical to our communication with each other. While it enables real-time communication, we also are careful to remain true to our asynchronous mindset, suggesting that GitLab team-members set "do not disturb" and not expect real-time answers from others all the time.
There are groups of channels that can help with various areas of GitLab. This page speaks to a few subsets of those channel groups.
Search for channels using either the Search GitLab toolbar, using a channel name with the #channel-name format, or go the the left sidebar, click on More and then Channel browser.
There are a lot of general channels, just to name a few:
#whats-happening-at-gitlab: General announcements and company-wide broadcasts#questions: Ask all of GitLab for help with any question you have… and then go document it after you find the answer :)#thanks: Where GitLab team-members can say thanks to those GitLab team-members who did a great job, helped a customer, or helped you!#random: Socialize and share random snippets with your fellow GitLab team-members.To raise an issue with a specific team, please use below most commonly used channels;
#people-connect: For general People Operations tasks such us onboarding, offboarding, letter of employment, Team calender events management etc#it-help: For IT related queries, Okta, issues with hardware, software, system access requests and user permissions etc#payroll_expenses: For Expensify issues, delayed reimbursements and salaries, payslips, etc#talent acquisition: For referrals based questions, candidate alignments, general talent acquisition etc#total-rewards: For general questions on Total Rewards including compensation, benefits, and equityThese channels (prefixed with a a_) are for team members to collaborate and communicate regarding the account for a customer organization. Depending on the customer, they are sometimes internal, marked as private or we shared with the customer by connecting to customer's own Slack workspace. In order to clearly differentiate between these shared and internal channels, we recommend using a_XYZ-internal and a_XYZ-external naming conventions to be explicitly clear (as the shared symbol can be easily missed in Slack).
To request a new channel or to make changes to existing channels, please use the access request process.
Commercial (Mid-Market and SMB) accounts have specific guidelines around having Slack channels with customers.
These channels are for teams and GitLab team-members interested in a specific feature that exists in GitLab or is being built today!
Examples
#f_web_ide: Share ideas and feedback about our Web IDE#f_ldap: Talk about our integration with LDAP providers.Group channels (prefixed with a g_) correspond to a DevOps Stage group and other engineering departments and teams.
Example
#g_create: Channel for the Create development group.#g_create_source-code: Channel for the Source Code development group.#g_geo: Dedicated to the Geo group.These channels are used to help GitLab team-members who are in the same general region of the world to talk about get-togethers and other location-specific items. They are also instrumental if you're going to be visiting somewhere else in the world - there might be a GitLab team-member or two nearby! Feel free to join the channel temporarily to chat with GitLab team-members who live there, and see if there is an opportunity to leverage the visiting grant to add value to your trip.
Examples
#loc_nashville: Chat with the GitLab team-members in Nashville, Tennessee, USA#loc_portugal: A channel for GitLab team-members in the entire country of Portugal!These channels are temporary and used to focus communication around a specific project. As an ephemeral channel they are archived once a project is complete and can be found in Slack by searching for proj_
These channels are temporary and used to focus communication around a specific working group. As an ephemeral channel they are archived once the working group's exit criteria is met and can be found in Slack by searching for wg_
Stage channels (prefixed with s_) correspond to stages within sub-departments.
Examples
#s_enablement: For the Enablement stage.#s_create: For the Create stage.Sub-department channels (prefixed with sd_) correspond to sub-departments within departments.
Example
These channels are automated to show all messages from throughout our Slack channels that are reacted to with one of our values emojis:
The channels are:
#values-feed-collaboration#values-feed-results#values-feed-efficiency#values-feed-diversity-and-inclusion#values-feed-iteration#values-feed-transparencyIn addition to weekly company group calls that bring us together, GitLab has Social Slack Groups. Social Groups are Slack channels that bring team members together around common interests, hobbies, and lifestyles. Think tennis club, gaming, shell collectors, movie buffs, faith groups, football. You can see a list of Social Slack Groups and their tags below. Feel free to join any that resonate with you. This is a non-exhaustive list, but if you don't see a group you'd love to see on the list, reach out to our diversity, inclusion and belonging team and we'd love to explore your idea.
Examples:
#all-caps: Light-hearted conversation in ALL CAPS.#bookclub: A place for bibliophiles to connect, share recommendations and discuss their latest reads.#cats, #dog, #cute-animal-photos: Show us your cutest pics of your pets! We love all pets, but we made special channels for cats and dog(s).#cheerleader: When you need or want to share encouragement and support!#cooking: Share your favorite recipes, and brag about your homemade dishes.#dad_jokes: Self-explanatory really, give us your best dad jokes!#emilys: For all the Emily/ie/ia/ees at GitLab.#fitlab: Channel to discuss fitness and related topics.#gaming: Discuss gaming (both tabletop and video). We also have a Discord linked in the topic.#office-today: Where’s your office today? Share a photo or use words to describe it.#lego: Build, inspire, play. Share your builds and invite your children.#lgbtq: Space for LGBTQ people and allies in GitLab to chat and support each other.#managers: Share ideas, thoughts, and issues on all things to do with being a manager at GitLab.#mental_health_aware: Mental health is super important and we realize that. This is a place to discuss concerns you might be having or find someone to talk to if you're feeling alone. We aim to be supportive and available for all who need it.#music: Share your current playlist or any interesting music you come across.#postcrossing: Send team members postcards from your home cities, towns and villages from around the world.