Hello,

My name is Dan Toczala, but most people just call me "Tox" (a shorter version of my last name).  I am a Customer Success Manager and Technical Leader here at IBM, and I have been working with the Watson technology for the past five years, helping people use Watson's capabilities to help them solve important problems.  I know a lot about Watson and AI in general, but I still have a lot to learn - and I am learning every day.  I am writing these "Welcome" blog posts for each of the topic groups in the community so I can give you an idea of why we are launching this, what you can expect from the community and the topic group, and what is expected of community members.

This Watson Assistant topic group is going to focus on topics, questions, discussions, and materials that relate to the Watson Assistant service and it's capabilities.  The Watson Apps topic group will host materials about solutions, and combinations of Watson services.  So if your focus is a bit broader, then you should check out the Watson Apps topic group. If you are focused on just the Watson Assistant service, then you are in the right place.  The Watson Assistant service is quite powerful, and because the dialog engine drives most chatbot and expert assistant use cases, it tends to be our most popular Watson service. 

There are multiple areas where you can collaborate.  The discussions area will have questions and discussions related to Watson Assistant.  The library will have materials and content like slides, models, training data, architectures, and other things that community members may share, or collaborate on.  Blogs will contain stories and articles that allow you to read about best practices, and to share your growing expertise with the rest of the community.  Finally, the events section will highlight upcoming events that may be of interest to members of this topic group.

Please keep in mind that for any community to be useful, members have to feel safe.  Please act and post in a professional manner.  It's fine to disagree with others in the community and to have spirited conversations, but these conversations should be conducted professionally (like adults), without becoming abusive, insulting, derogatory, or offensive.  This should be a safe and positive place for people to teach others, learn from others, and collaborate with others.
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