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I kind of disagree with this. If you post your problem to someone without asking if they have the time, it interrupts their flow to a much greater degree, becau

I kind of disagree with this. If you post your problem to someone without asking if they have the time, it interrupts their flow to a much greater degree, because it's simply not possible to read that question without your mind engaging with it. Posting just "Hey" is kind of dumb, but starting with "Hey, do you have a minute? I have an issue" is fine. It's easy to respond to with "no, sorry" and keep working.

mgberlin 9y ago
You're getting interrupted either way, might as well just get it over with as soon as possible.
gdubs 9y ago
"Hey, do you have a minute? I have an issue" Except a lot of people are going to read that and then wonder – for what feels like an eternity – what's the 'issue' and how serious is it?
- seanp2k2 9y ago
  This. If I don't have time, I'll say "I can look at this at [time]" or just not answer if I'm e.g. presenting or something. It makes my life a lot easier when someone just gives me the facts, and it gets them to done faster as well. Pleasantries are fine and great, but in work chat, I don't consider it rude to just ask a question to someone directly. Ideally, a channel can answer, but sometimes you're working with someone specific on a thing. I also don't have a problem referring people to channels when I don't have time or don't want to get into the habit of answering that type of thing myself 100% of the time. TL;DR help the person you want help from by doing the legwork of figuring out the exact error, and get to the point where you're asking an answerable question. Give them all the relevant details, and try to take as little of their time as possible. This, to me, is a sign of professional politeness and respect. It also tends to get you an answer quickly, and a high likelihood of that person helping you again in the future.
dingo_bat 9y ago
I just put my Skype on "do not disturb". No notifications, no sounds, just pipes all messages to my email where I'll see them when I want interruption.

mgberlin 9y ago

You're getting interrupted either way, might as well just get it over with as soon as possible.

gdubs 9y ago

"Hey, do you have a minute? I have an issue" Except a lot of people are going to read that and then wonder – for what feels like an eternity – what's the 'issue' and how serious is it?

seanp2k2 9y ago
This. If I don't have time, I'll say "I can look at this at [time]" or just not answer if I'm e.g. presenting or something. It makes my life a lot easier when someone just gives me the facts, and it gets them to done faster as well. Pleasantries are fine and great, but in work chat, I don't consider it rude to just ask a question to someone directly. Ideally, a channel can answer, but sometimes you're working with someone specific on a thing. I also don't have a problem referring people to channels when I don't have time or don't want to get into the habit of answering that type of thing myself 100% of the time. TL;DR help the person you want help from by doing the legwork of figuring out the exact error, and get to the point where you're asking an answerable question. Give them all the relevant details, and try to take as little of their time as possible. This, to me, is a sign of professional politeness and respect. It also tends to get you an answer quickly, and a high likelihood of that person helping you again in the future.

dingo_bat 9y ago

I just put my Skype on "do not disturb". No notifications, no sounds, just pipes all messages to my email where I'll see them when I want interruption.