To and From Other Users
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Buyers initiate communications in the Message Center when inviting a provider to an interview. The buyer's message will appear in the provider's inbox (Messages > Inbox). From this point, the users can reply to each other in the inbox or exchange contact information and take the interview to another medium, such as email, chat or telephone. (Learn more about interviewing - information for buyers and providers.)
It is up to you to decide when to share your contact information. You may choose to disclose only your oDesk email address if you do not wish to share your personal information.
The Team Room offers several ways for users to get in touch.
- Send a Message: Sends the user a message through the Message Center. It is not possible to add attachments to these user-to-user messages.
- Email Your Team: Opens an email addressed to the whole team (via the team mailing list) in your default email client.
Each assignment's details page also includes links to email all parties (buyer, provider, staffing manager).
The email-based options are sent to the UserID@oDesk.com addresses for all providers and any buyer who has enabled it.
Outside the Message Center, workteams frequently communicate via email and chat (text, voice and video). Files can be transferred through these methods, as well third-party file sharing services.
It depends on who they are and what you're contacting them for:
- To do work for you: Post a job and invite the provider to interview. Hire the provider, manage the assignment, and pay for the work. You will need to go to the provider's profile to send the invitation.
- To add a colleague to your team: Invite the user to join your team. You will need the colleague's email address or oDesk user ID.
- To add an affiliated contractor to do work on behalf of your company: Invite the user to join your team. You will need the provider's email address or oDesk user ID.
- To communicate with an existing team member: Use one of the Team Room contact options.
- To talk to your fellow users publicly about just about anything: Visit the Community Forums.
Provider companies must not solicit potential affiliated contractors publicly, whether on the forum or with a public job post. If you wish to contact users through their provider profiles to discuss becoming an affiliated contractor, you must post a private job and invite them to interview. When a provider accepts the interview and agrees to join you as an affiliated contractor, ask for their user ID to send an invitation to join your team.
