Methods of contact for help differ in requirements and privacy level. In addition, while we try to accommodate a variety of means of initial contact, anything requiring ongoing dialog must use only a preferred method of communication. Please read about our :ref:`communication policies <supported_methods_of_contact>` for more details.
| Method | Privacy | Requirements | Preferred |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub Discussion | World discoverable / readable | Free GitHub account | Yes |
| MS Teams | Visible only in llnl.gov | Access to LLNL networks | No |
| Hotline Telephone Call | Same as ordinary telphone call | Access to LLNL networks | No |
In general, coverage is during normal West Coast business hours, 8am-12pm and 1-5pm (GMT-8, San Francisco time zone), Monday through Friday excluding LLNL holidays. Response time may be as much as four hours due to team member's multi-tasking among many responsibilities.
A GitHub Discussion is the preferred method of contact because it is likely to be seen by more people who can provide a timely response and because any response we produce can be viewed by the widest possible audience.
If you are so inclined, we welcome you to read more about the VisIt project's :ref:`Site Reliability Engineering <site_reliability_engineering>` processes to understand how we provide support.