Welcome to KW Techs
We're a 3,500+ community of past/present/future tech workers and enthusiasts in the KW (Kitchener Waterloo) region. Our core communication is via Slack, but we also sometimes get together in real life, too!We welcome those that are part of growing and shaping the KW tech ecosystem as employees, freelancers, job seekers, supporter, and/or students in the tech community.
Events
We run events from time to time out in the real world. Our most recent was the Choo Choo, Chug - an LRT pub crawl. Keep an eye on the #events channel in Slack to see if we or anyone else in the community is running an event or meetup you'd like to attend!
Guidelines and Etiquette
These rules were reviewed by the Community and help to keep the Slack and events welcoming, inclusive, and dirtbag-free.
Guidelines
- No poaching for roles outside of the KW ecosystem.
- Be human. No personal attacks, illegal content, or discriminatory posts.
- No spamming.
- No novelty accounts.
- Admins reserve the right to remove content or remove users as necessary if it is deemed detrimental to the experience of others.
- No advertising of unpaid internship/co-op opportunities by for-profit organizations. Want a student? Pay them. Ask in #recommendations for grant help!
Etiquette
- Thread your responses where possible.
- Post in relevant channels. Channels like #spotlight, #events, and #kijiji-but-for-slack, and #jobs are all good channels to know.
- If you don’t see a channel that relates to your post, start a channel by interest and invite interested members. We have a vibrant community and it has the capacity to support many conversations and interests.
Message the Mods
The mod list will be pinned to #general. If you feel like a user is acting against the rules or etiquette of the channel, send a mod a note. A mod will request more information to make a decision.We bias towards welcome. Admins will always default to being clear about giving feedback on bad behaviors.The ban process is taken very seriously by admins. We operate on a three-strike approach - two warnings, and, on a third infraction, the user is removed (see Rules).Current active mods/admins include @joanna, @amaris, @stevedeckert, @matt, @Peter Soliman, @alexkinsella, and @Lindsay Weir (She/Her).Also thanks to our inactive mods for their service and past work: @strieudal, @josephfung, @astrodogmatt, @samlegge, @evan, @Kayleen Hamelin, and @elaine :)
Channels of Interest
Here are a list of some of the most popular channels for new members to join!
#Jobs - For seekers and employers
#Events - Upcoming events, virtual and in-person
#Kijiji_-but-for-slack - It's like Kijiji, but for slack
#downtown-kitchener - Do you DTK?
#deals - Great deals from around the web
#developers - For the devs and aspiring devs
#covid19 - Discussing Covid-19
#recommendations - Asking for recos from the community for service providers, products, etc.
#random - Random chitchat, anything goes as long as it abides by our rules
#food - Yum
#freelance - Freelancer discussion
#leadership - For people leaders/managers
#kwgivesback - Sharing opportunities to donate money or time to good causes
#marketing - For... marketers
#sales - For... sales
#news - News discussion
#womenintech - For women in tech
#product-managers - PM central
#makersgonnamake - For makers and people looking to buy handmade
#diversity - Discussions on diversity
#craft-beer-and-spirits - For fans of the sauce
#books - Book talk
#humanresources - HR professional hangout
#upboat - For shameless self promotion asking for traffic/clicks/upvotes/etc
#fitness - Discussion of fitness (at home or otherwise)
#homeowners - Homeowner questions and discussion
#cycling - For cyclists
#parents - For parents/guardians of small humans
#pets - For parents/guardians of small non-humans
#ev - Electric vehicles
#students - For students to hang out in
#games - Of the video variety
#boardgames - Of the board variety
Search the channel browser in Slack for even more!Not finding what you want? You can always make your own channel, too!
Join the Community
The fastest way to join our community is via a referral from a current member who can request an invite for you in the #invitations Slack channel!If you don't know anyone in the group you can use our Typeform, below, to request an invitation to join.
Manually vetting requests helps keep the community functioning as an intimate, trust-based peer group.An admin will review the request and do some quick checks to make sure the referrer and requester details are accurate. If there’s any confusion, admins will post the request to the #admin channel in order to reach a decision.The contact information provided is used to vet entry. The KW Tech Slack admins do not buy, sell, or rent out personal data.Requesters can expect a reply within 1-3 days.
Get in touch
Have other questions? Want to sponsor a future event? Reach out directly to the moderators here:
© KWTechs. All rights reserved.
Thank You
We'll be in touch after we read your message!
Choo Choo, Chug
The first real-life event put on by the admins of the Slack group, we had over 50 people sign up and attend our pub crawl along the ION LRT. Graciously sponsored by Workhaus as we stopped at Crazy Canuck, Abe Erb, and Chainsaw, we're excited to run more events in the future.If you came to the event and have photos to add, please let us know in the #events channel!
