Respond to a request with a clear next step

Check fit before replying

Read the proposed work, dates, location, deliverables, usage, budget or exchange, team and safety context. Compare those details with your current practice and boundaries. A request that lacks essential information can receive a question instead of a rushed yes.

If the work may involve minors, sensitive images, travel, unusual access or personal data, ask who is responsible and how the risk will be handled before discussing a final scope.

Check timing and capacity.
Check scope, usage and expenses.
Check team, access and safety context.

Reply with a decision path

Ask only the questions needed to decide. If the opportunity is promising, say what you need next and point the conversation toward a versioned Agreement. Put roles, terms and changes in that record; a chat summary is helpful context but not acceptance.

If you need time, say when you can return. Clear timing reduces repeated follow-up and gives both people a fair chance to reconsider the brief.

Decline, block or report when needed

A brief decline is professional. You can suggest a smaller scope or different timing if that is genuinely useful, but do not create pressure by presenting a no as a negotiation obligation. Stop contact when someone has asked you to stop.

Use Block to limit unwanted new contact and Report for spam, harassment, rights violations or unsafe conduct. Add the relevant context and keep a copy of necessary project evidence. A decline does not require you to continue an unwanted conversation. Never share passwords, card numbers or identity documents in project chat.