Using Slack

How we communicate in ME204

We will use Slack as our primary informal communication channel for discussions, questions, and collaboration. It is a great way to get quick help from the teaching team and your peers.

Ways in which you will use Slack in this course:

• To ask questions to the teaching team and your peers.
• To share and download pieces of code, files, screenshots, etc. with/from peers and instructors.
• To socialise with your classmates.
• To read announcements from the teaching team.

Joining the Workspace

⚠️ Slack link only available on Moodle.

If you are seeing this from the public website of ME204, you won’t be able to find the link to join our Slack workspace. Please visit the Moodle version of this page instead to find the link.

Once you click on the link, you will be asked to add a profile picture and add your name. Add the name you want to be known by.

You can also add a display name, like a @username the way we normally do on social media. For example, this is how I set up mine:

Note: You can use any e-mail to join the workspace. If you use a non-LSE e-mail, note that I will remove people whose name I don’t recognise from the students’ list.

💡 Tips:

• Download the Slack app on your phone ^{(Android or iOS)} and/or laptop so it is easier to communicate with your classmates and instructors.
• Even if your profile photo is not a direct photo of you, it should be something that helps me recognise you.

Key Channels

Here are the main channels we will be using in this course.

Announcements

The #announcements channel is where Stuart and I will post reminders of deadlines and any other important information you need to know about the course. You can always react with an emoji to any message (it helps me see that I’m not talking to a wall!) and ask clarifying questions by replying to any threads. `

Help

The #help channel is the place where most of the student activity tends to happen in our courses. Feel free to use this channel to ask questions to us, instructors, but also to your peers about anything you’re stuck with or unclear about in relation to this course.

Social

Use the #social channel to introduce yourself, invite others to LSE socials or public lecture events, or even to go sightseeing around London.

Best Practices

• Search first: Before posting a question, please use Slack’s search function to see if it has already been answered.
• Use public channels: Whenever possible, ask your questions in the #help channel instead of sending direct messages to the teaching team. This allows everyone to see the question and answer, which helps other students and reduces the number of duplicate questions.
• Be patient: The teaching team will do their best to answer questions in a timely manner, but please be patient, especially during evenings and weekends.
• Be respectful: Please be respectful and professional in all your communications on Slack.

Customise Your Slack Theme

If you’d like your Slack to use the official ME204 colours, you can import a custom theme.

1. Click on LSE ME204 (2025) in the top-left corner of Slack.

2. Go to Preferences > Appearance.

3. Scroll down to Custom Theme and click Import.

4. Paste the following code:

   #3995BA,#005A9C,#20A271,#F8CE0A

We look forward to seeing you on Slack!