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If you're remote, ramble

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Re: If you're remote, ramble

#31

Post by siva7 »

MrGilbert wrote: post #17
siva7 wrote: post #10

> We have no scheduled meetings, so ramblings are our equivalent of water cooler talk. This is the difference. Most teams have scheduled daily (!) meetings, so such rambling channels often times feel more like another chore and therefore fail because they haven't emerged of a natural need from the team.

Although it really depends on the team's maturity to acknowledge that they are missing social interaction in the first place. I'd also argue that "scheduled meetings" doesn’t translate to "water cooler talk" automatically. So even if you'd have regular scheduled meetings, you might still crave for some socializing.

I would hope so that scheduled meetings would not translate to water cooler talk. I want to talk about the agenda and not some smalltalk. People tried crazy things during covid to replicate the water cooler talk through remote tools. If we can have some laughs together about the agenda, that's what i like. People are different i guess.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#32

Post by jon-wood »

skhameneh wrote: post #9

This is what things like "water cooler chat" looks like for remote-first. This is the fundamental difference between what a healthy remote-first company starts to look like versus the soulless version historically in-person companies try to sell. To the author, thank you for sharing your version of the dynamics.

We’ve got a similar but different approach at work of having assorted channels that are around non-work topics. DIY, cooking, music, etc. It’s not quite the same as a water cooler, and we augment this with regular get togethers, but it does help give everyone a glimpse into people’s wider lives.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#33

Post by MrGilbert »

_Algernon_ wrote: post #15
MrGilbert wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe there is some technical issue for you regarding the automatic switch between light and dark mode. Under normal circumstances, it is perfectly readable.

I tried both light and dark. Ended up switching to reader mode. Maybe its the font or something else? Something about the design is causing eye strain at least.

Just saw your imgur. That is broken, yeah. The text should have a far more darker color. As another commenter pointed out, maybe there is an issue with the Javascript on this page.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#34

Post by shakna »

_Algernon_ wrote: post #2

This is unreadable. Increase the contrast, please... Edit: I may be falsely blaming the contrast, but something about the design is causing me eye strain. Im not sure what. Here is a screenshot how the site looks to me: https://imgur.com/a/LNVCMRc Maybe someone else can figure it out.

On my lower end smartphone, the font is so fine that there's dropped pixels that is upsetting my eyes.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#35

Post by navane »

madduci wrote: post #19

At work we use Teams and one interesting feature that I use isnky own chat (where inam alone), where in post links that mostly interest me. Also Signal offers something similar, called "Personal Notes"

Too many typos

isnky -> is my Inam -> I am In -> I?

Funnily, the first two autocorrected when I typed then in and I genuinely didn't know what isnky was supposed to mean.

On topic though, if no one else can read it it's like writing in your own local notes files.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#36

Post by MrGilbert »

siva7 wrote: post #31
MrGilbert wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Although it really depends on the team's maturity to acknowledge that they are missing social interaction in the first place. I'd also argue that "scheduled meetings" doesn’t translate to "water cooler talk" automatically. So even if you'd have regular scheduled meetings, you might still crave for some socializing.

I would hope so that scheduled meetings would not translate to water cooler talk. I want to talk about the agenda and not some smalltalk. People tried crazy things during covid to replicate the water cooler talk through remote tools. If we can have some laughs together about the agenda, that's what i like. People are different i guess.

I usually ask people if they are open to a coffee talk. Just 15 minutes each month. Some people talk about their personal life, others talk about what's on their mind with regards to this and that work project. It‘s interesting how different people are. I‘m fine with any of those topics - I value the interaction more than the content.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#37

Post by makeitdouble »

> Each ramblings channel should be named after the team member, and only that person can post top-level messages. Others can reply in threads, but not start new ones.

I'm trying hard to understand why it has to be a personal channel. Water coolers aren't personal, that's the whole point.

In particular you're still adjusting what you write to be OK for anyone in your team read, so the distinction with the other "casual" channels sounds thin.

OTOH if your team doesn't have a casual place to say random stuff, it would be a nice improvement to get one.

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#38

Post by barnabee »

senko wrote: post #23

I fail to see how this is different from a general off-topic chat channel which you're not expected to follow (but can peek at on downtime or while waiting for Claude Code). While that doesn't scale for large companies, for 2-10 (mentioned in the article) it's better than 2-10 such channels you need to keep track of.

Yeah, encouraging using and engaging in a single off topic channel would create far less overhead on all but the smallest teams

Re: If you're remote, ramble

#40

Post by codesnik »

I've tried to create or revive a watercooler channel in every remote company I've worked in last 10 years. For some reason it usually doesn't work. Some people don't needed it, some people just call each other and vent out privately. I miss watercooler talk.
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