Introducing Our FORM Slack Community!
At FORM, we understand the value of community when building a movement that affects the professional and personal lives of so many. At our core, we believe that the implementation of Open Science infrastructures and policies in HEI across the Arab region can only be successful if those who engage with it are part of the solution too!
That’s why we’re launching our FORM Slack Community: a platform that invites everyone in our community to discuss a wide range of themes and issues within Open Science.
Slack is a messaging app that connects people and helps build communities across the world.
BE A PART OF FORM’S GROWING COMMUNITY OF OPEN SCIENCE ADVOCATES AND CHANGE-MAKERS!
What We Want to Achieve
Many of our members have expressed the need for increased interaction during our Community Development Activities, asking for a direct pipeline of contact with us and other members to ask questions, participate in discussions, and work together to tackle challenges ailing the Arab region’s Open Science movement. Our Slack Community aims to provide a safe, intellectually stimulating, and inclusive space for researchers, academics, policymakers, Open Science advocates, and students with a passion for Arab higher education.
What You Can Expect
Our Slack Community will have a strict no-spam policy and will be carefully monitored by members of our team. You can expect to engage with us during activities like our CDAs or Annual Forum, gain firsthand access to our Arabic and English Open Science resources, and keep up to date with the latest higher education news and events across the region!
As a new Slack Community, we will be constantly updating and reshuffling our channels based on the preferences of our members, and will always try to offer the best forums for you to talk about all things Open Science. Soon you’ll find different channels dedicated to different activities and themes, like #predatory-publishing, #researcher-rights, #decolonising-open-access, and many more!
How Does it Work?
As a member of our initiative, you will be invited through Slack to join our community via your registered Email. After following the steps outlined by the Slack system, you’ll then be given access to your own Slack account within our community. It’s that simple!
The next step will be for you to familiarise yourself with your surroundings by updating your personal profile to include your picture and title so your peers can easily recognise you and engage, going through the different channels on the left-hand side, and introducing yourself on our #introductions channel.
You’ll also be able to directly DM our initiative members and FORM team, who can assist you if you have any trouble getting around.
New to Slack?
If you would like some tips on how to make the most out of your experience in our Slack community workspace, then please refer to this Slack Quick Start Guide developed by the wonderful people at The Center for Scientific Collaboration and Community Engagement (CSCCE). (Woodley, Louise, & Pratt, Catherine. (2020). Slack quick start guide. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3763730)
Rules of Conduct
As a member of FORM, you will be expected to maintain respect and etiquette towards your peers.
As a part of our community you are expected to:
- Treat all members with respect and fairness.
- Show tolerance to differences and facilitate inclusive dialogue
- Respect the privacy and confidentiality of everyone in the community.
- Post relevant and appropriate content. Do not post spam, advertisements, or irrelevant self-promotion.
The following behaviours are strictly prohibited:
- Bullying, slandering, or name-calling any members of the group
- Using channels to push political or divisive rhetoric
- Spreading misinformation or fake news within channels or in DMs
- Sharing defamatory, abusive, racist, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials
If you do not adhere to these rules, you will be removed from our community and banned from all future FORM activities.
Stay Connected!
You can also follow us on Twitter @Forum4Open and stay up to date with the latest activities and news.
