Skip to content

How To Get Help

Getting the help you need to answer a question, address an issue, or get unblocked can be difficult. This page offers some high-level indicators of where to go for certain kinds of help you may need in NTC.

Please note: be mindful of what information you share in public communication channels when seeking help. Do not share developer keys or application secrets in Slack. Use an encrypted service for this and only share with other members that need them (when in doubt, ask a project steward.

If you need help of a kind that this page does not address, feel free to ask in the #discussion slack channel. Once you get the help you need, please update this page with information on how you resolved your issue by following the step in the How to Contribute article to help others in the future!

For new joiners

For help understanding NTC, or questions for a specific subcommittee, department, or commission

  • For help understanding how the NTC is organized see the Organizational Structure article. You can also read NTC's bylaws here.
  • For help understanding individual subcommittees, departments, or commissions, check the Commission and Department Index. There you can find each group's description, best point of contact, charter, roster, and specific slack channel.
  • To clarify the terminology used to name different groups: Departments are longer term, more permanent projects. Commissions are shorter term projects. Both these are grouped under a relevant subcommittee, which organises and directs their work, and liaises with staff and the Steering Committee on their behalf.

For help with tools

  • Check the details in the Tools List (TODO) article for simple fixes.
  • Ask for help in the #tools-help slack channel.
  • If the tool in question is specific to a certain subcommittee or project, consider asking the relevant steward for help, or requesting help in the subcommittee's / project's slack channel.

For help requiring assistance or input from the NTC Steering Committee (SC) or from DSA staff

  • The NTC centralises coordination with DSA staff members, in order to avoid bombarding our hard-working comrades with requests. Post the questions you have for staff in #ask-steering. A SC member will add your request to the Staff Coordination Tracker, where such requests are prioritised, and contact and progress on them is tracked. Please do not tag staff members in the NTC slack or directly email them!

For help with access and security

For emergencies

  • Check the Contingency Plans (TODO) article for specific instructions.
  • If no contingency plan that addresses your emergency exists, tag the relevant steward in the relevant commission / department slack channel (for commission / department related issues), or tag steering committee members in the #discussion channel.