9 ms·

Just close the app then, right? Does your job obligate you to be on Slack all the time, probably not. You get more time back, and deliver more value to your com

Just close the app then, right? Does your job obligate you to be on Slack all the time, probably not. You get more time back, and deliver more value to your company's business.

colinmhayes 6y ago
Many jobs do require Slack open all the time. At my job that's the entire point, if it can wait send an email, if it needs attention now, slack. People get upset if you don't respond within 5 minutes, even if it's just to say I'll get back to you.
- u801e 6y ago
  Not in my experience. I never bothered enabling notifications from Slack. I can only tell if I received a message if I actually see the red mark on the pinned tab's favicon. Sometimes I don't get back to people for 10 to 15 minutes and they've never complained about it.
  - c00ls0sa 6y ago
    Okay, back to the people who need Slack open for their jobs. Not being able to mute or suppress doesn't necessarily need HR if everybody thinks it's quirky and harmless fun. You're then the odd man out and ostracized for trying to do your job efficiently - it's pretty bogus, but until some HN user decides to create a new messaging channel. It's gotten to the point where people will avoid seeing you in person but just as quickly ask if you "got that slack" the second they do. It's like e-mail but now you're expected to have it on your phone, home computer, work computer - never a chance to say "no" because you didn't feel like reading it at the time even as it's 9 pm on a Monday night. It's invasive and turns work banter into privatized logs of discussion - from an entry level POV this is terrible.
    - u801e 6y ago
      > Okay, back to the people who need Slack open for their jobs. It's a requirement at my job, but no one is required to respond right away. Just in a reasonable time frame. Sometimes I have to wait 15 to 30 minutes before I get a response to a message and it's similar to how long people may wait for me to respond to them. > It's gotten to the point where people will avoid seeing you in person but just as quickly ask if you "got that slack" Before we had to start working from home, people would typically come to my desk to talk if they wanted me to look at something. If it was someone from another office, the same time frame as I described earlier for replying to a message was perfectly fine and no one complained about it. We've been using Slack for 2 years at my workplace. > It's like e-mail but now you're expected to have it on your phone, home computer, work computer I actually use an older smartphone that won't work with Slack (Nokia N9). It used to work when Slack had an IRC gateway, but not now. I also tell my employer that I refuse to install any work related software on my personal devices and they're fine with that. If it was that important, then they can provide me with company issued devices. So far, they haven't bothered. As for notifications, it's up to you if you want to enable them and it applies to any type of chat client, not just Slack. I prefer just checking it periodically during work hours and any messages that I receive, I'll reply when I check for them. What you describe is a problem at the business level as opposed to a specific chat client. For me, I would rather use a less resource intensive IM framework like IRC over Slack, mainly because it's a resource hog and frequently has significant UI lag when running it in a Firefox tab (to the point where I have to wait 3 to 5 seconds for text I type to show up on the screen).
Minor49er 6y ago
I wish it was that simple. Questions and alerts come up frequently, and people expect as close to a real-time response as they can get.
- unethical_ban 6y ago
  If you are having trouble with distracting conversation or bots, but are expected to work in the channel, I would consider it the same as any in-person distraction. Loud music, nerf guns, shouting or laughing in an open office. You could politely ask them to turn it off. Or you could mute notifications except for @mentions and @all and tell them to use that if they need you.

Just close the app then, right? Does your job obligate you to be on Slack all the time, probably not. You get more time back, and deliver more value to your company's business.

colinmhayes 6y ago

Many jobs do require Slack open all the time. At my job that's the entire point, if it can wait send an email, if it needs attention now, slack. People get upset if you don't respond within 5 minutes, even if it's just to say I'll get back to you.

u801e 6y ago
Not in my experience. I never bothered enabling notifications from Slack. I can only tell if I received a message if I actually see the red mark on the pinned tab's favicon. Sometimes I don't get back to people for 10 to 15 minutes and they've never complained about it.
- c00ls0sa 6y ago
  Okay, back to the people who need Slack open for their jobs. Not being able to mute or suppress doesn't necessarily need HR if everybody thinks it's quirky and harmless fun. You're then the odd man out and ostracized for trying to do your job efficiently - it's pretty bogus, but until some HN user decides to create a new messaging channel. It's gotten to the point where people will avoid seeing you in person but just as quickly ask if you "got that slack" the second they do. It's like e-mail but now you're expected to have it on your phone, home computer, work computer - never a chance to say "no" because you didn't feel like reading it at the time even as it's 9 pm on a Monday night. It's invasive and turns work banter into privatized logs of discussion - from an entry level POV this is terrible.
  - u801e 6y ago
    > Okay, back to the people who need Slack open for their jobs. It's a requirement at my job, but no one is required to respond right away. Just in a reasonable time frame. Sometimes I have to wait 15 to 30 minutes before I get a response to a message and it's similar to how long people may wait for me to respond to them. > It's gotten to the point where people will avoid seeing you in person but just as quickly ask if you "got that slack" Before we had to start working from home, people would typically come to my desk to talk if they wanted me to look at something. If it was someone from another office, the same time frame as I described earlier for replying to a message was perfectly fine and no one complained about it. We've been using Slack for 2 years at my workplace. > It's like e-mail but now you're expected to have it on your phone, home computer, work computer I actually use an older smartphone that won't work with Slack (Nokia N9). It used to work when Slack had an IRC gateway, but not now. I also tell my employer that I refuse to install any work related software on my personal devices and they're fine with that. If it was that important, then they can provide me with company issued devices. So far, they haven't bothered. As for notifications, it's up to you if you want to enable them and it applies to any type of chat client, not just Slack. I prefer just checking it periodically during work hours and any messages that I receive, I'll reply when I check for them. What you describe is a problem at the business level as opposed to a specific chat client. For me, I would rather use a less resource intensive IM framework like IRC over Slack, mainly because it's a resource hog and frequently has significant UI lag when running it in a Firefox tab (to the point where I have to wait 3 to 5 seconds for text I type to show up on the screen).

Minor49er 6y ago

I wish it was that simple. Questions and alerts come up frequently, and people expect as close to a real-time response as they can get.

unethical_ban 6y ago
If you are having trouble with distracting conversation or bots, but are expected to work in the channel, I would consider it the same as any in-person distraction. Loud music, nerf guns, shouting or laughing in an open office. You could politely ask them to turn it off. Or you could mute notifications except for @mentions and @all and tell them to use that if they need you.