Get Terminology
“What’s A8C?” Here’s an overview of Automattic slang that will help you understand what the heck everyone is saying around here.
a8c: Shorthand for Automattic.
a11n: Shorthand for Automattician.
a12s: Shorthand for Automatticians (pro tip: the number in the middle of the word denotes the number of letters between the first and last letter).
AFK: Away from Keyboard (make sure you schedule enough of this!)
AMA: Ask me anything.
Field Guide (FG): Resource for Automatticians. Includes HR information, how-tos, and advanced documentation on work processes.
Matt’s Global Search (MGS): Search through the Automattic universe (P2s, Slack conversations, Field Guide pages, support documentation, and more). Check out How to Use MGS Like a Pro.
MC aka Metrimattic aka Mission Control: The “brain” of Automattic. Contains stats, Matt’s Global Search, etc.
Meetup: Team or company conference/meeting, with a focus on connection, learning, and team bonding (typically) in person. The most common Meetups include: Team Meetup (your immediate team), Mega Meetups (20+, often cross-functional), Division Meetup (your full business unit division), and Grand Meetup (the entire company).
P2: The name of the theme used for internal blogs; also, a shorthand for the blogs themselves.
Ping: Term used to contact a fellow Automattician. “I’m going to ping Paolo.” Traditional reply, naturally, is “pong”—but this is optional.
Sandbox: A sandbox is a development environment nearly identical to the production environment where new features are developed and we discover and fix bugs.
Town Hall: Monthly “virtual” meeting with Matt. Announced via email and on #announcements, archived on a8c.tv. Participate in chat on #townhall (general chat) and #townhall-questions (questions for Matt).
There’s lots more terminology on our MC Glossary.
Next: Get Travelling →
Automattic