Skip to main content
Discord is the primary channel for everything in this course: lecture questions, assignment help, office hours and announcements. Email is not monitored for course questions. Do this in the first week, before the first assignment is due.
1

Join the server

Open the invite and accept it:discord.gg/bs7Q4Dxc85Install Discord on your phone as well. Announcements about deadlines and exam logistics go out here, and you do not want to find out late.During joining you are asked which course and section you are in. Answer it. That answer is what gives you access to your section channel, and you will see almost nothing until you do.
2

Set your nickname to First.Lastname

Your server nickname must be your real name in the form First.Lastname, for example Ada.Lovelace. Check yours and set it if it does not already read that way.This is not cosmetic. Staff have to match your Discord account to the class roster in order to answer a grading question, check a submission, or know who is asking in office hours. A nickname like xX_gamer_Xx means nobody can help you without a round of “who are you”.On desktop, right-click the server name at the top of the channel list, choose Edit Server Profile, and set the nickname. On mobile, tap the server name, then the three-dot menu, then Edit Server Profile.
Use the name your institution has on record. If you go by a different name day to day, use the roster name here so staff can find you, and say so in your section channel.
3

Find your section channel

Section channels are named for the course, the modality and the term, for example cs-6613-online-fall-2026. You will only see the channel for the section you selected, which is intended: it keeps each section’s discussion to the people in it.If you cannot see a section channel, you almost certainly skipped the section question when joining. Ask in the welcome channel and staff will sort it out.

​
Where to ask what

Ask course questions in the open channel rather than by direct message. Someone else has the same question, the answer helps them too, and you will usually get a reply faster because any of the staff or your classmates can pick it up. Ticket conversations stay private between you and the staff.

​
Before you move on

  • You are in the server and can see a section channel.
  • Your nickname reads First.Lastname.
  • Discord is installed on your phone with notifications on.
Assignment 1 checks that your nickname is set correctly. It is a small number of points and it costs you nothing to get right now.
Copy the block below into a course announcement. Use the copy button in the top right of the block.
Edit this page on GitHub or file an issue.