When I joined the workplaceSlackat Lifehackers parent company, Fusion Media Group, I went in guns blazing.

I posted too much, inserted myself into conversations, embarrassed myself in private channels.

Dont be like me!

But also dont be a terrified wallflower.

Heres how to settle into a new Slack without embarrassing yourself.

Help people get a read on you, and theyll be much more open and friendly.

If this is a company Slack, put your real information in there!

For a few months one colleague replaced his face with Donald Trumps ass.

It is so dumb and bad.

So for Ashleys sake, upload your face.

Shut up

In the wise words of the internet,lurk moar.

Dont goof around in the serious channels.

Dont attempt to join in on every conversation.

Dont ask people to clarify every inside joke.

Dont say something controversial if no one was asking for your opinion.

Dont spam the /giphy command.

And dont use @here or @channel unless youre bleeding.

You dont have to be silent; obviously if its a work Slack youcantbe silent.

Just err on the conservative side.

Later on, well tell you some horror stories about what happens when you dont.

Listen

While youre busy not talking, also try listening!

Watch the tone and frequency of peoples messages.

Note which channels are for idle chatter and which are only for work or announcements.

Check whos in each channel.

Who uses lots of exclamation marks and who just says sure?

Do people use threads and emoji reactions?

Do people say thank you?

Search your own name.

Then search any subject that people are likely to have strong opinions about.

Check who can read what!

Different roles have different read/write abilities, and the person who started your Slack can change those abilities.

ReadSlacks guide to the complex role system.

Admins can deactivate peoples accounts, change peoples display names, and even delete peoples messages.

Join some social channels

You dont have to just sit there quivering in the corner.

Find some social channels.

nudge the Channels heading on the left rail to see all the public channels.

Ask your boss or colleagues in person for recommendations.

And ask people you trust about what private channels are worth joining.

(At our workplace, the dog channel is public but the cat channel is private.)

Its helpful to be in one or two non-work-related channels, says A.V.

Club executive editor Laura M. Browning.

Stay active enough that people recognize your name.

I recognize your name from the women-at-gmg channel.

Include some small and specific channels.

Read a little of the channels backlog before you decide to join.

Start posting

If youve followed all the other steps, this part will be so much easier.

At first, imitate other peoples general tone.

Be supportive of other peoples contributions; acknowledge important messages; contribute to brainstorms.

I guess the business language for this is be a team player.

Try not to use Slack like Twitter.

DM people

Spend less time in big channels and more time starting one-on-one conversations.

(Whereas you probably dont often shout to a roomful of 200 people in real life.)

It feels incredibly weird at first, but it makes eventual in-person meetings so much better.

Compliment people on their work, send them interesting links, ask them for advice.

Dont bother someone all the time, but do reach out even when youre intimidated.

This is also a great way to express appreciation of a joke or contribution without clogging up a channel.

Dont worry about it

You will still do something embarrassing.

And you will survive.

It was mortifying and everyone gave me shit.

It took me MONTHS before I said anything in Slack again.

So I, reasonably, told Laura it was great that she has a dog named Beef.

Turns out its her twin sister!

I have been very reluctant to comment in Slack ever since.