Merge pull request #10887 from edx/slack-in-contributing-file

Real-time conversation is on Slack, not IRC

CONTRIBUTING.rst

@@ -18,6 +18,9 @@ edX product team. You may get some valuable feedback that changes how you think
 about your idea, or you may find other developers who have the same idea and want
 to work together.
 
+JIRA
+----
+
 If you've got an idea for a new feature or new functionality for an existing feature,
 please start a discussion on the `edx-code`_ mailing list to get feedback from
 the community about the idea and your implementation choices.
@@ -38,14 +41,27 @@ pull request.
 .. _start a discussion on JIRA: https://openedx.atlassian.net/secure/Dashboard.jspa
 .. _create a free JIRA account: https://openedx.atlassian.net/admin/users/sign-up
 
-For real-time conversation, we use `IRC`_: we all hang out in the
-`#edx-code channel on Freenode`_. Come join us! The channel tends to be most
-active Monday through Friday between 13:00 and 21:00 UTC
-(9am to 5pm US Eastern time), but interesting conversations can happen
-at any time.
+Slack
+-----
+
+To talk with others in the Open edX community, join us on `Slack`_.
+`Sign up for a free account`_ and join the conversation!
+The group tends to be most active Monday through Friday
+between 13:00 and 21:00 UTC (9am to 5pm US Eastern time),
+but interesting conversations can happen at any time.
+There are many different channels available for different topics, including:
+
+* ``#ops`` for installation help
+* ``#events`` for upcoming events related to Open edX
+* ``#content`` for discussions about course content and creating the best courses
+
+And lots more! You can also make your own channels to discuss new topics.
+
+.. _Slack: https://slack.com/
+.. _Sign up for a free account: https://openedx-slack-invite.herokuapp.com/
 
-.. _IRC: http://www.irchelp.org/
-.. _#edx-code channel on Freenode: http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=edx-code
+Mailing Lists
+-------------
 
 For asynchronous conversation, we have several mailing lists on Google Groups: