# Member Chat

The DENIC member chat is accessible via the Mattermost chat system. On the client side, Mattermost can either be used in Internet browsers or it is available as an app. On the server side, DENIC is operating a self-hosted Mattermost instance.

The chat system is available exclusively for exchange between DENIC and the members and among the members themselves.

Information is exchanged in public and in private group channels and between users via private direct messages. On the next page, we have compiled the available chat options in a table.

How do I get access to the member chat?

Send a request to Member Services at DBS (Kontaktinformation
Contact information) with the email address you would like to use for the chat system, followed by your first name and surname. You will then receive an invitation link to the chat system, which is valid for 48 hours.

Channel | Public | Private | Description | Rules
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
General | x | - | General channel for all members | This channel is used to make announcements, inform about maintenance work and outages, and for general issues.
Technical Advisory Council | x | - | This channel is used for discussions between the Technical Advisory Council and the DENIC members. | -
DENIC-<member number> | - | x | This channel is a member channel that can be used by all employees of the member. Upon request by DBS it can be set up as a private channel for the communication between the member and DBS. | At the start of the chat, the name of the person participating from DBS is communicated. If the person from DBS that participates in the chat changes during the ongoing chat, the name of the new person is also communicated.
<Personal name> for direct messages | - | x | This channel is used for chats between individual employees at the DENIC member and DBS. | At the start of the chat, the name of the person participating from DBS is communicated. If the person from DBS that participates in the chat changes during the ongoing chat, the name of the new person is also communicated.