Communication

Since we are remote first, it's going to be important to practice good communication.

How to reach out

Prefer asynchronous communication such as Github PR, and issues. Chats are disruptive so avoid them unless necessary.
Discuss on Github, avoid 1:1 private conversation. If you need an urgent response link the PR in the chat and move the conversation over there.
Google Chat is our main point to talk. Prefer using public channels to 1:1 chats, and make use of threads to prevent spamming notifications.
You are not expected to be available all the time. If you receive a message, you should answer when possible. If you receive a message outside of work hours, you have zero obligation to respond.
Don't be shy, ask questions in the public channels. If this is something related to the company that is undocumented, please open a PR with the answer ASAP.

How to give feedback

When giving feedback: don't be nice, but be careful about how you present it.

When receiving feedback, don't take it personally, and assume positive intent.

We have multiple cultures in the company and each with their own nuances and cultural heritage. Unfortunately the only way to communicate effectively in this case is to be clear and straight: if something works, it needs to be said, if something doesn't work, it needs to be said too.

If you are not used to give feedback in this way, some good rules:

Have the right amount of empathy: withholding feedback so someone doesn't feel "hurt" will prevent them from improving (it might be a blind spot), but if someone has already been made aware, don't push it.
Be personal (I feel/I think), and do not accuse (you did this wrong - avoid saying this).
Be specific, both in praise and in critic. Example: "I like how you did XYZ".
Offer path of improvement AND leave the door open for discussion. Example: "I think this is not the right way to do XYZ, you should look at those blogs and let me know your thoughts"; Or "I feel this can be improved by adding XYZ".