Discord Ping Etiquette

Staying connected, especially as members of a WH group, is critical to our survival and F/H (fun per hour). In WHSOC, we use discord to keep in touch outside of EVE. At times, it is necessary to alert a person, group, or everyone about something going on. This post will discuss what we call "pings." A ping is, essentially, a notification—primarily for smartphones. When someone sends a "ping," particular get a popup on their phone (or desktop application), if they belong to the group pinged.

• All pings on discord start with the "@" symbol. Whenever you ping someone, make sure you are in the correct channel! Meaning, if you have a question for person X about indy, make sure you are in the industry channel.
• To ping a specific user, use: @nickname (i.e. @Leonidas). As you start typing their nickname, it should autofill for you. Alternatively, you can use their discord username.
• To ping a group, use: @group (i.e. @Officer).

Either of the above pings can be used in just about any standard channel.

Ping Types & Examples

Additionally, we have ping-specific channels (such as #pvp-pings and #pve-pings). The following three ping types are used for these channels:

•  "Soft ping." By default, you will receive a notification any time someone types anything in #pvp/pve-pings. When you type something in a ping channel without using the @ symbol, this is called a soft ping. Some people will change the default settings and prevent these types of pings to cut down on phone notifications. Soft pings are typically used for pvp fights when you need a couple more people for a very small, casual engagement. An example soft ping: "Baiting a loki in B4.2 using amor."
•  "@here." This type of ping will notify people who have the app running, either on their phone or their computer desktop. This type of ping should be used for fights including a handful of kitchen sink ships.
  • Example @here #pvp-pings messages
    • "@here small ratting fleet in A4.1, looking to jump them, pulsar"
    • "@here fight got escalated, need a few more pilots. A3.2, confessors"
    • "@here forming indigo fleet, neighbors want to brawl, form in fortizar."
  • Example @here #pve-pings messages"
    • @here going to be running C5 combats in B5.2, bring nestors."
• "@everyone." This type of ping will notify, well, everyone. This type of ping should typically only be used for fleet fights (using a particular doctrine with an FC) or in urgent situations.
  • Example @everyone #pvp-pings messages:
    • "@everyone lazerhawks next door, get in delta ships, combat ops 1, get on the B5.2"
    • "@everyone friendly nestors tackled in C4.1, need help."

Whenever giving updates, use soft pings (i.e. "fight is over" or "standing down" or "fight has moved to B6.1" or "Ratting is done for now")

Four final points:

1. Overall, be smart with your pings. We do not want to abuse the pinging system and annoy people to the point where they turn off/ignore pings; @here should be used sparingly and @everyone should be used rarely. That being said, if you get 10 legitamate fights in a day, feel free to ping 10 times in a day.
2. The more information you give in a ping, the less people will have to ask when they get online. As 10 people trickle on, you don't want to be asked 10 times, "what doctrine? Which hole? Where are we forming?" If you can include all of that information in your intial ping, it will make life easier on you.
3. When rolling holes, make sure you use @here in #alliance-chat (i.e. @here rolling A)
4. DO NOT CHAT in ping channels (such as #pvp/pve-pings). If you need to ask a question about or make a comment regarding a pvp/pve ping, ask/say it in #alliance-chat and consider pinging the sender.

When in doubt, ask. Err on the side of NOT abusing the pinging (@here/@everyone) system.