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Slack

This page will show you how we use Slack at Terra, including daily check-ins, how to ask for help, and how to organize conversations.

Slack is Terra’s main communication hub. It’s where we coordinate daily work, ask questions, share updates, and keep all teams connected — especially because we work remotely and across multiple time zones.

We use Slack to:

  • communicate quickly without emails
  • stay aligned on daily priorities
  • ask for help and unblock tasks
  • keep project discussions organized in their channels
  • centralize important project info using Canvas
  • reduce noise by using threads, icons, and structured messages

Slack is our virtual office. Keeping it clear, structured, and easy to navigate helps every project move faster.


Every project at Terra has two Slack channels, this makes

  • International Channel
    Example: #sei
    For communicating with everyone involved in the project — including PMs, designers, and teammates outside the EU dev team.

  • EU Dev Channel Example: #sei-europe
    For internal communication within the EU development team. Here you can speak in Spanish and coordinate more quickly. Usually you will only be added to the EU channel unless the international team needs to communicate directly with you.

This is important because, this way:

  • only the people working on that project are notified
  • the context stays in one place
  • other teams are not distracted unnecessarily

There are also several general Terra channels such as #dev, #staff, #plants-and-pets…) — you will discover them gradually. Only use generic channels when the topic is strictly unrelated to a specific project.

Feel free to organize or group your channels however works best for you.


Threads help keep conversation organized and visually clean. We use icons to give context to each thread:

IconTypeWhen to Use ItExample
🔵InformationStatus updates, progress, deliveries, PRs, general communication.🔵 Status of Service Pages — all service pages are now working fine with the same structure
🟡Technical QuestionWhen you’re blocked, unsure, or need technical help from another dev.🟡 Handler X — Anyone knows why handler X isn’t loading in the build?
🔴UrgentCritical issues or blockers that stop the project. Use only when truly urgent.🔴 Stage is down on WP Engine — I can’t continue with QA.

All updates related to a task should stay within its thread.


At the start of your workday, post a short message in #dev with what you’ll be working on. This helps the whole team understand your focus and allows PMs to plan more effectively.

Good morning! Today I’ll be working on:
- Onboarding: Updating TerraDocs
- NET · Homepage · QA Missing Title
- SEI · Service Page · Batch 1: Life Science

Before your shift ends, update the thread of your check-in and tag your manager. This keeps channels clean while still documenting your progress.

Update!
- Onboarding: Updating TerraDocs ✅
- NET · Homepage · QA Missing Title ⏰ - On it
- SEI · Service Page · Batch 1: Life Science ❌
+ Internal: Fix header-cache ✅

Because the team is distributed across countries and time zones, we ask you to use an icon (related to food) to indicate you are having lunch. This helps others understand you are temporarily unavailable.

You’ll find several other icons like:

  • 🌴 → for your vacationing
  • ⛔ → if you’re unavailable for a period of time
  • 🕐 → when you have a special working hours (for example, you enter earlier or leave earlier than unsual)
  • 😷 → when feeling unwell
  • 🧠 → when you’re focused

Each channel can have several Canvas at the top, which contains important project information.

Canvas

Each project has its own Canvas, but you’ll usually find:

  • Links or Essentials → usually filled with access links
  • CallSheets → a guide for the sync call of the project. If you need something to discuss in the call, you put it here.
  • Scopes → client requirements of the project, project scope, approved decisions

To keep Slack clean and functional:

  • Use threads
  • Accompany your threads with a loom when needed
  • Create threads with context (🔵 / 🟡 / 🔴)
  • When a doubt is solved in a thread, edit it with a ✅
  • If someone is asking something and you’re taking a look at it, use 👀 to let others know that you’re handling it
  • Keep channels organized
  • Update your threads with the solution of your question or status of your task
  • Check the Canvas before asking
  • Keep discussions in the right channel

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