37 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
37 lines
2.3 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: choosing-a-comms-channel
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description: Pick the right channel for a message instead of defaulting to whichever one is easiest to reach for. A fire-and-forget message is fine for pure notification with no expected reply. A tracked question needing a recorded decision belongs in a mechanism that threads the answer back to you, not a channel with no reply path. An issue-shaped question or decision belongs where the surrounding context already lives (the tracked item itself), not a side channel a future reader won't find. Ongoing back-and-forth belongs in a real conversational channel, not a one-shot send. Use this whenever you're about to communicate and there's more than one way to do it.
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---
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# Choosing a Comms Channel
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Different messages want different channels. Picking the wrong one
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doesn't just look sloppy - it actively loses information (a reply that
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never reaches you) or buries context (a decision made somewhere a
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future reader won't think to look).
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## Match the channel to what you actually need
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- **Pure fire-and-forget notification, no reply expected** - a
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dashboard-visible one-way message is fine. Don't reach for a
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conversational channel just to say something that needs no response.
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- **A specific decision you need recorded, that threads an answer back
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to you** - use a mechanism built for exactly that (queues cleanly,
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the answer comes back attached to the question). This matters for
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anything you'll need to point back to later - a gated approval, a
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go/no-go call.
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- **An issue-shaped question or decision** - post it where the
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surrounding context already lives (the tracked item itself), not in
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a side channel. A future reader looking at that item should find the
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reasoning there, not have to go hunting through chat history for why
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a decision was made.
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- **Quick back-and-forth, status checks, anything conversational** -
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use a real two-way conversational channel if you have one, rather
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than a one-shot message that doesn't invite a reply.
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## The underlying test
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Before sending, ask: "if I need an answer, does this channel actually
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deliver one back to me? If someone reads this in a week, will they find
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it where the rest of the context already is?" If either answer is no,
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you've picked the wrong channel for what you're trying to do.
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