02-intouch.Rmd

# Communication & staying in touch {-#intouch}
There are two main forms of communication in the lab: **Slack** and **email**. 


## Slack {-#slack}
[Slack](https://slack.com/intl/en-ca/) is a popular messaging platform. When you become a lab member you’ll receive an invitation to the IRSS Slack channel. Follow up with Nicholas if you haven’t yet. Please use your UBC email address to sign up for Slack.

The IRSS Slack portal ID is `ubc-irss.slack.com`

IRSS Slack contains several channels, each serving different purposes. The most important channels are:

* **#general** - For general discussion on various topics.

* **#ncc_annouce** - For important announcements, typically only Nicholas will post in this channel.

* **#science** - Anything science related, can be an interesting paper or a coding issue someone is struggling with.

* **#irss-supp-grp** - Lab support group. A place to _anonymously_ share ideas of how to improve the lab, talk about issues not related to your research, or ask for help. Important to note that Nicholas is _not_ a member of this channel. 

You’ll quickly notice that the conversations on Slack (especially on #general) are often very relaxed. However, remember that all public channels are PG-13.

*In using slack you are agreeing to have acknowledged the following disclaimer:*

```
Your personal information is collected under the authority of section 26(c) of the Freedom
of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA). This information will be used for 
the purpose of managing your registration and account with Slack. 
Your personal information will be stored on a secure service within the USA. 

Questions about the collection of this information may be directed to:

forestry.ithelp@ubc.ca.
```

## Email {-#email}

Nicholas's primary email is `nicholas.coops@ubc.ca`. He generally tries to respond to emails as quickly as possible, but if he hasn’t replied to you in 2 days, send him a reminder. His emails can often be short and direct, he sends a lot of them daily!