Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable • Hacker News Board

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#61

Post by userbinator » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:07 AM UTC

Minor49er wrote: post #15

My coworker wrote a bot for Slack that spams most of our channels with random gifs throughout the day. Most of my other coworkers find it amusing, but to me, it's quite distracting. I opened an issue with Slack to ask them to add an "ignore" feature, but they responded that ignoring anyone is counterproductive so they won't be adding it. Thanks, Slack.

wrote a bot for Slack that spams most of our channels with random gifs throughout the day

I am surprised that sort of behaviour is even allowed. The places I've worked would've probably given such an employee a very strong reprimand. Then again, they've also had clear policies about not... slacking off with the company's resources.

That said, there are a few thirdparty clients; you might like the text-only ones: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20500880

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#62

Post by peteretep » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:09 AM UTC

> The problematic employee, the employee who would sit around at the lunchroom and tell people how bad this place is — that’s just happening on Slack, and it’s amplifying

Great, on Slack it’s documented, so you can fire them.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#63

Post by beamatronic » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:15 AM UTC

I remember when HipChat was in the position that Slack is in now. At the time it seemed unassailable.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#64

Post by irjustin » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:17 AM UTC

I don't disagree that a Slack 'backlash' is coming because anything that grows eventually has to stop growing as teams find whatever, NoSQL, NoCode, Slack, Kubernetes, Docker, AWS, was not the panacea they thought it was. That's okay.

I thoroughly dislike the basis for the argument. The author does clear it up in the end that Slack isn't the problem, the culture is, but why wrap the story that way just to sound good.

It reminds me of anti-maskers who blame restaurants for forcing them to wear masks. Wrong attribution.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#65

Post by steviedotboston » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:28 AM UTC

catchmeifyoucan wrote: post #52

Twist. We’ve been using it as a slack alternative and it truly works as a better email replacement. It’s great for announcements, and isn’t super overwhelming with every channel organized like an inbox. The UX is super simple. Haven’t played with it too much just yet, but like it so far

which one?

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#66

Post by nashashmi » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:29 AM UTC

So slack is amplifying a problem... one that happens to be quite common in more paralyzed mediums such as the water cooler ... And before CEOs would ignore it or sweep it under the rug but now it is getting in their way.

Awesome! STOP ignoring your employees! Stop dismissing their complaints. And start LEADING! Yes, when employees complain, leaders are put in the hot seat. Yes, when employees organize, they are being ridiculous. Yes, when babies cry, they need to be consoled. Yet, the solution is not to keep the baby sleeping or be threatening or just dump the baby. These CEOs need to lead. And the employees need to speak louder.

This article is is all about Slack. And designed to make slack look bad. Other communication platforms have the same problem. But the author only focuses on slack. This looks like the opposite of a PR article.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#67

Post by oceanswave » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:30 AM UTC

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #25

danudey wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This post matches up with every other "We're ditching Slack" post I've seen. It comes down to: 1. Our employees can't behave themselves 2. Our managers can't or won't do anything about it 3. Executives aren't willing to draw a line in the sand 4. I guess Slack is terrible?

If a tool is so easily subverted and misused so widely, eventually it’s the tool’s fault. Arguing that it’s just the users’ fault is like trying to boil the ocean. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or not, the component that can actually be addressed is the tool, so the tool is capable of bearing blame.

We’ve found the same behavior in normal person to person speech, so we’ve implemented a gag policy that nobody talks to one another during business hours. Ultimately, it’s person to person communication that we’ve found is the broken tool for, granted, a minority of users so we’ve implemented this policy company wide.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#68

Post by colinmhayes » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 2:51 AM UTC

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #35

Minor49er wrote: post #15

My coworker wrote a bot for Slack that spams most of our channels with random gifs throughout the day. Most of my other coworkers find it amusing, but to me, it's quite distracting. I opened an issue with Slack to ask them to add an "ignore" feature, but they responded that ignoring anyone is counterproductive so they won't be adding it. Thanks, Slack.

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.

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.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#69

Post by mlthoughts2018 » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 3:06 AM UTC

oceanswave wrote: post #67

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If a tool is so easily subverted and misused so widely, eventually it’s the tool’s fault. Arguing that it’s just the users’ fault is like trying to boil the ocean. It doesn’t matter if you’re right or not, the component that can actually be addressed is the tool, so the tool is capable of bearing blame.

We’ve found the same behavior in normal person to person speech, so we’ve implemented a gag policy that nobody talks to one another during business hours. Ultimately, it’s person to person communication that we’ve found is the broken tool for, granted, a minority of users so we’ve implemented this policy company wide.

Your satire rings very flat because it doesn’t happen much in person to person communication. The whole reason it’s noteworthy to talk about it in regards to Slack is that it does happen to a much greater extent in Slack and other chat programs than in almost any other corporate communication system, enough to make it clear that instant messaging, not people, is the core of the issue.

Re: Why a Slack Backlash Is Inevitable

#70

Post by u801e » Fri, Aug 21, 2020, 3:17 AM UTC

colinmhayes wrote: post #68

JMTQp8lwXL wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

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.