Code Rood uses a rocket.chat server for internal communication. This is something like Slack but then more private. It should replace all email so your email inbox won’t fill up with Code Rood organizational emails! What a joy!
On this page:
You can register a new account https://chat.code-rood.org. After registration, there are three ways to connect to the chat server and start blissful communication:
Note that the browser and the desktop app are the most stable options here. These also can enable end to end encryption (e2ee) which is good.
For this guide we will use the desktop app on Linux as an example. This should be interchangeable with the browser experience and the desktop apps on Windows and Mac.
Once you logged in you should see something among the lines of this:
Now lets go into detail for these sections.
If you scroll down in box 1 of the image above you will see public channels, private groups and the people you messaged directly.
There is a very important distinction. The top part are public channels (usually named something like name-public). Anyone can browse and join these! The bottom part are more private channels to which you have to be invited.
What does this mean? Well consider the public part as public as anything else on the internet! Assume cops and journalists are reading this part as well! We use this part specifically for communication among working groups and to offer people an easy way to get involved with Code Rood.
You can think of these public channels are a bit like a spokes council or an assembly where the group reports on their activities/provides updates. If you do not care or have the time for anything but your own working group, do not follow. If you want to have a bigger picture of the operations, have a look once a month.
The private part is better protected. There is the distinction between groups. For example above you see the #tech-public channel, which is the public part of the tech/IT working group. People can use this to ask for technical assistance. The private group tech is used within the working group to make plans, have discussions etc, and you have to be invited to be able join. But anyone who is invited can read back the history of what was said before they joined!
You can read more on the security considerations of the public/private channels on this page.
When you first join you are automagically put in the following channels:
But you can join more public channels! Every working group has a public channel available so you can reach them to ask questions. The working group will use this channel to post updates and can post requests there. So if you are interested in helping out or just want to know what is going on you should definitely join some.
You can view and browse these channels by pressing on the top left of your screen on the directory button.
You can then see the public channels and join them if you want.
From left to right:
Your avatar. You can go to “My Account” here, from which you can do all sorts of settings and preferences. You can also log out here.
Search. You can search for channels, groups or users! For example below I searched for “tu” which matches on Tulband and the #culture-public channel:
Directory. Like with search you can find people or channels here. Unlike search this simply lists them all. Not how you can select either “Channels” or “Users” here and that you also have a search bar, damn. Impressive stuff.
View Mode. Select how large things should be… I like condensed.
Sort. Select on how your stuff is sorted… I guess Activity could be useful?
Create new. If you want to create a new channel you can do it here! Really nice if you need to communicate with certain people for a project or working group or whatever.
TODO: write this part
You may be thinking “but how am I ever going to find something here? Unlike mail topics are not threaded/divided per subject by default. To overcome this we use threads.
To see which threads are active in a channel press the “Threads” button in the top right of the screen when you are viewing a channel:
To start a new thread press the three vertical dots at the side of a message (1) and then click “Reply in Thread” (2).
Pinned messages are important messages that must not get lost. When you join a channel you can check the pinned messages for important resources, updates or decisions. To check the pinned messages of a channel click the three vertical dots at the top right corner after you selected a channel and then click “Pinned Messages”
You can see who is in the selected channel by pressing the “Members list” button on the top right corner of your screen. You can see who is in the channel who is currently online or all users of the channel.