4 ms·

The Slack Platform Roadmap

44 points by ALee 11y ago

rickr 11y ago
The actual roadmap is here: https://trello.com/b/ZnTQyumQ/slack-platform-roadmap https://trello.com/b/ZnTQyumQ/slack-platform-roadmap
- perseusprime11 11y ago
  There is not much here. Real roadmaps look bit more complex than this. This seems like a roadmap created for hiring purposes.
throwawayasd 11y ago
No away message support? Is Slack allergic to this for some reason? I cannot fathom why this basic functionality hasn't been added yet without requiring awkward contortions of adding custom fields to your profile.
- hspak 11y ago
  When is the away status insufficient?
  - throwawayasd 11y ago
    For purely remote scenarios, it is an important indication of whether you will be back soon or if you are afk for an extended period of time. Without it you are left broadcasting your status ("going afk for an hour to run an errand, etc") on channels, or having to hack up your profile each time and assume that other users will know where to look to determine when you will be back. Just about every messaging system has support for this: ICQ, MSN Messenger, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and now Google Hangouts, HipChat, etc. Even with IRC there are cheap ways to simulate it. It's really hard to get used to not having it after making good use of it for almost 2 decades.
    - kordless 11y ago
      A throwaway account can be used to sway bias just as using "just about every messaging system does X". Neither of them are good arguments. Question is, why the anonymity?
    - wpietri 11y ago
      I think the "2 decades" thing is relevant here. Most of the products you mention were created before people were almost always physically in contact with an internet-enabled device. I never used any of those much, but starting using Slack when I joined a company where it was ubiquitous. I never saw anybody care about declaring an away message. People at any point could be busy and might not answer, but they were rarely "away". The culture was just to assume that people were available, and if not that they'd reply when they could.
      - proksoup 11y ago
        100% agreed. I work for a slack competitor that has away messages, and I'm jealous of Slack's willingness to ignore the old interface patterns and implement the simplest solution possible that makes the most sense for larger group users, new users, ignoring the expectations of the smaller group of users, old-time users.
    - M2Ys4U 11y ago
      >Even with IRC there are cheap ways to simulate it. IRC has it built-in: the AWAY message. To set: AWAY :I've gone to the dentist To clear: AWAY
- burke 11y ago
  You can change your Last Name to "<LastName> (<status>)". Lots of people at my Org do this.
tfinniga 11y ago
I really enjoyed this presentation about platforms and power over their lifetime: http://www.lostgarden.com/2011/03/gdc-2011-game-of-platform-power.html http://www.lostgarden.com/2011/03/gdc-2011-game-of-platform-... In the framework of this presentation, slack is currently in the 'Engage' phase of the platform. They're all about openness and building something great. But code is law, and eventually their APIs will be used for something they dislike. Building on a platform is always going to be like snatching pennies from in front of a steamroller.
akhatri_aus 11y ago
I wish they'd put a bit more effort in making it faster (outside the US/EU) (and feel more native)
josefdlange 11y ago
So, why can't I view the roadmap?
joeyspn 11y ago
That is the most abstract and confusing roadmap I've ever seen... Two improvements before rocket.chat eats your lunch... 1 - Give devs the option to extend the UI via fly-in panels (like rocket.chat does) 2 - Update API to support comms with 1
awakeasleep 11y ago
I don't see anything about fixing screen hero. This sucks for those of us in multiple professional organizations.
- mikhailt 11y ago
  I don't think they have any plans to fix it, they're just going to integrate some of its technology into the new Calls feature in Slack that's been available for a while now. I actually prefer Slack's Calls than any other group calling services out there now.

44 points by ALee 11y ago

rickr 11y ago

The actual roadmap is here: https://trello.com/b/ZnTQyumQ/slack-platform-roadmap https://trello.com/b/ZnTQyumQ/slack-platform-roadmap

perseusprime11 11y ago
There is not much here. Real roadmaps look bit more complex than this. This seems like a roadmap created for hiring purposes.

throwawayasd 11y ago

No away message support? Is Slack allergic to this for some reason? I cannot fathom why this basic functionality hasn't been added yet without requiring awkward contortions of adding custom fields to your profile.

hspak 11y ago
When is the away status insufficient?
- throwawayasd 11y ago
  For purely remote scenarios, it is an important indication of whether you will be back soon or if you are afk for an extended period of time. Without it you are left broadcasting your status ("going afk for an hour to run an errand, etc") on channels, or having to hack up your profile each time and assume that other users will know where to look to determine when you will be back. Just about every messaging system has support for this: ICQ, MSN Messenger, Jabber, Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk and now Google Hangouts, HipChat, etc. Even with IRC there are cheap ways to simulate it. It's really hard to get used to not having it after making good use of it for almost 2 decades.
  - kordless 11y ago
    A throwaway account can be used to sway bias just as using "just about every messaging system does X". Neither of them are good arguments. Question is, why the anonymity?
  - wpietri 11y ago
    I think the "2 decades" thing is relevant here. Most of the products you mention were created before people were almost always physically in contact with an internet-enabled device. I never used any of those much, but starting using Slack when I joined a company where it was ubiquitous. I never saw anybody care about declaring an away message. People at any point could be busy and might not answer, but they were rarely "away". The culture was just to assume that people were available, and if not that they'd reply when they could.
    - proksoup 11y ago
      100% agreed. I work for a slack competitor that has away messages, and I'm jealous of Slack's willingness to ignore the old interface patterns and implement the simplest solution possible that makes the most sense for larger group users, new users, ignoring the expectations of the smaller group of users, old-time users.
  - M2Ys4U 11y ago
    >Even with IRC there are cheap ways to simulate it. IRC has it built-in: the AWAY message. To set: AWAY :I've gone to the dentist To clear: AWAY
burke 11y ago
You can change your Last Name to "<LastName> (<status>)". Lots of people at my Org do this.

tfinniga 11y ago

I really enjoyed this presentation about platforms and power over their lifetime: http://www.lostgarden.com/2011/03/gdc-2011-game-of-platform-power.html http://www.lostgarden.com/2011/03/gdc-2011-game-of-platform-... In the framework of this presentation, slack is currently in the 'Engage' phase of the platform. They're all about openness and building something great. But code is law, and eventually their APIs will be used for something they dislike. Building on a platform is always going to be like snatching pennies from in front of a steamroller.

akhatri_aus 11y ago

I wish they'd put a bit more effort in making it faster (outside the US/EU) (and feel more native)

josefdlange 11y ago

So, why can't I view the roadmap?

joeyspn 11y ago

That is the most abstract and confusing roadmap I've ever seen... Two improvements before rocket.chat eats your lunch... 1 - Give devs the option to extend the UI via fly-in panels (like rocket.chat does) 2 - Update API to support comms with 1

awakeasleep 11y ago

I don't see anything about fixing screen hero. This sucks for those of us in multiple professional organizations.

mikhailt 11y ago
I don't think they have any plans to fix it, they're just going to integrate some of its technology into the new Calls feature in Slack that's been available for a while now. I actually prefer Slack's Calls than any other group calling services out there now.