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https://github.com/18F/charlie

18F's Slack bot, Charlie. Built on Bolt
https://github.com/18F/charlie

Last synced: about 2 months ago
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18F's Slack bot, Charlie. Built on Bolt

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# Charlie - 18F's Plastic Pal That's Fun to Be With



A Slack app bot used within 18F for fun and work.



- [What all it can do](#what-all-it-can-do)

  - [Interactive bots](#interactive-bots)

  - [Non-interactive bots](#non-interactive-bots)

- [Development](#development)

- [Public domain](#public-domain)



## What all it can do



### Interactive bots



##### Coffeemate



Schedule virtual coffees with random teammates! Not sure who you should talk to?

Charlie can help! Say `coffee me` to get put into the virtual coffee queue. As

soon as someone else signs up, Charlie will connect you.



##### Dad jokes



Charlie can fetch a joke from

[Fatherhood.gov](https://www.fatherhood.gov/for-dads/dad-jokes) to brighten up

your day. Just say `@Charlie dad joke` to increase your daily joy.



##### Employee resource group invite requests



To see a list of TTS employee resource and affinity groups that accept automated

invitation requests, just ask Charlie! Say `@Charlie ergs` and the bot will send

you a direct message listing the groups along with a button for each one.

Clicking the button will send a message to the group letting them know you'd

like an invitation!



Some employee resource and affinity groups are not available by automated

invitation request. To see the complete list of ERGs and contact information,

you can send yourself a direct message that just says `ergs` and Slackbot will

respond with that information!



##### Facts



Charlie knows **_so many_** facts. Dog facts, cat facts, giraffe facts, dolphin

facts. There are just so many facts. You can just say `dog fact` (or

`giraffe fact`, etc.) to get Charlie to share its knowledge with you.



| Key word          | What it does                                      |

| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------- |

| `alan fact`       | Shares a fact about people named Alan             |

| `alumni dog fact` | Shares a fact about a dog belonging to a TTS alum |

| `ask ally fact`   | Shares a fact about accessible web development    |

| `bird fact`       | Shares a fact about a TTS person's bird           |

| `cat fact`        | Shares a fact about a TTS person's cat            |

| `dog fact`        | Shares a fact about a TTS person's dog            |

| `dolphin fact`    | Shares a fact about dolphins                      |

| `ed simulator`    | Shares a quote from 18F alumni Ed Mullen          |

| `giraffe fact`    | Shares a fact of dubious truth about giraffes     |

| `minnesota facts` | Shares a fact about the state of Minnesota        |

| `park fact`       | Shares a fact about the US National Parks         |

| `randy fact`      | Shares a fact about 18F staff member Randy        |

| `screambot`       | Joyfully screams along with you                   |

| `wisconsin facts` | Shares a fact about the state of Wisconsin        |



##### Fancy font



Feeling fancy, and want your message to reflect that? Charlie is here! Just say

`fancy font ` and Charlie will respond with a very fancy version

of your message. So fancy!



##### Federal holidays



Itching for a day off and want to know when the next holiday is? Charlie knows

all the (standard, recurring) holidays! Just say

`@charlie when is the next holiday` and Charlie will let you know.



##### Three-paycheck months



Do you look forward to 3-paycheck months to treat yourself to something nice?

Maybe blue crabs? You deserve nice things, and Charlie can help! Just say

`@charlie when's the next 3-paycheck month?` (or something similar; Charlie is

not too picky) and it'll let you know the next one up!



##### Handbook search



Wondering if the [TTS Handbook](https://handbook.tts.gsa.gov) has useful

information for a particular topic but don't want to open your browser? Charlie

can help! Just say `@handbook terms` and Charlie will search the Handbook for

`terms` for you (replace `terms` with whatever you want). If it finds anything,

it'll post links in a threaded response to your request.



##### HugMe



Need to see a little hug in your life? Friends from TTS past have left us a gift

and Charlie will deliver it whenever you need. Just say `@charlie hug me` or

`@charlie hug bomb ` to get a little happiness dropped right on your

screen.



##### OPM's DC offices status



Working in DC and want to know if the office is closed due to snow or, perhaps,

raven attack? Charlie knows all! Say `@charlie opm status` and it will ask OPM

for the latest information and then pass that along to you. No more having to

open a web browser all by yourself!



##### Procurement glossary



Not sure what a procurement term means? Charlie might be able to help! Say

`@charlie define ` and it will attempt to look the term up in the

[18F Procurement Glossary](https://github.com/18f/procurement-glossary)

and report what it finds.



##### Pug bot



Do you like pugs? Do you want pictures of pugs? Charlie can help! Just say

`@Charlie pug me` to get a picture of a cute pug, or `@Charlie pug bomb [count]`

to get a bunch of pug pictures! (You can leave the count out; Charlie will

send 3 pictures if you don't ask for a specific number.)



##### Q-Expander bot



Ever wonder what the Q\* initialisms are after everyone's names? Each letter describes where a person fits in the organization. Say `qex [q-initialism]` and get a detailed tree response back.



For example:

`qex queaad`



Response:



```

QUEAAD

|||||└──QUEAAD: Chumanjalaal Cohort

||||└──QUEAA: Engineering

|||└──QUEA: 18F Chapters

||└──QUE: 18F

|└──QU: Office of Clients & Markets

└──Q: FAS (TTS)

```



##### Tock line



What Tock line do I bill this project to? Ugh, who can remember? Charlie can!

In a channel, you can say `@charlie set tock ` and Charlie will remember

the Tock line for that room. In the future, if you need to know what to bill to,

say `@charlie tock` and it will let you know. Handy!



##### US Code Bot



The law sure is fun, and Charlie can help you look it up! If you drop a citation

to the US Code, Charlie will attempt to look it up on the

[Cornell LII](https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text) website and post the text

in a thread. Handy for you legal eagles!



##### Zen bot



Say `@charlie zen` to get Charlie to fetch a product-, techy-, or code-focused

message of zen. Read it, and breathe.



### Non-interactive bots



##### Helpful tau bot



If Charlie sees something it recognizes as a time posted into chat, it will send

a message that only you can see, letting you know what that time is in your

timezone. Charlie tries really hard.



##### Holiday reminders



On the business day before a federal holiday, Charlie will post a reminder in

[#general-talk](https://app.slack.com/client/T025AQGAN/C04KL9ZN2). Take the day

off, don't do work for the government, and observe it in the way that is most

suitable for you!



##### Inclusion bot



Charlie passively listens for [language with racist, ableist, sexist, or other

exclusionary histories](https://github.com/18F/charlie/blob/main/InclusionBot.md)

(content warning: the linked document includes words and phrases that the bot

listens for, and these words and phrases may be offensive). When it hears such

words or phrases, it quietly lets the speaker know and offers some suggestions.

What a great bot, helping nudge us all to thoughtful, inclusive language! We also

maintain [a history](https://github.com/18F/charlie/blob/main/CHANGELOG.inclusion_bot.md)

of the evolution of Inclusion Bot.



##### Optimistic / Angry Tock



At the end of the work week, Charlie will send a private message to any Tockable

people who haven't submitted their Tock yet to remind them to do it. At the

start of the next work week, Charlie will send a message to people who still

haven't submitted their Tock. Finally, at the end of the first day of the work

week, Charlie will send a message to 18F supervisors letting them know about

anyone whose Tock report is late.



##### Travel team



Did you know that the TTS Travel team takes weekends and holidays too? It's

true, they do! And Charlie knows it too. If you drop a question or comment in

the travel channel on a closed day, Charlie will remind you that the office is

closed and offer some helpful tips to get you through. It will also let you know

when the Travel team will be back in the office!



## Development



See [the wiki](https://github.com/18F/charlie/wiki) for developer documentation

and our [contributing docs](CONTRIBUTING.md) for contribution guidelines



## Public domain



This project is in the worldwide [public domain](LICENSE.md). As stated in [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING.md):



> This project is in the public domain within the United States, and copyright and related

> rights in the work worldwide are waived through the

> [CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/).

>

> All contributions to this project will be released under the CC0 dedication. By submitting a pull

> request, you are agreeing to comply with this waiver of copyright interest.