Slack has been detrimental to my productivity; it seriously induces ADD. Let me rant for a moment...
When it works well, online chat allows for immersion in a team or group and absorption of tribal knowledge merely by hanging out there. I don’t know what specifically it is about Slack, but it seems to implicitly discourage this.
First: sooooo many channels. Right now, there are >50 security-related channels in our Slack. People are only half-jokingly asking if there should be a channel where it's on-topic to ask which channel to ask a question in.
This is partially a result of human nature: we like to be part of a tribe, so we split large groups into smaller groups. Dunbar’s numbers etc.
That’s cool, and can give focus, but in Slack, this seems to trigger Total Channel Overload.
That’s cool, and can give focus, but in Slack, this seems to trigger Total Channel Overload.
Smaller and smaller groups create more and more tightly scoped channels, which only leads to a lack of information sharing across knowledge- or tribal boundaries.
FOMO leads to people joining all those channels anyway, trying to keep up.
FOMO leads to people joining all those channels anyway, trying to keep up.
What's worse, you also get cliquish behavior and private clubs. People's desire to draw “us" vs "them" boundaries leads to unnecessarily restricted private channels.
Once you create an invite-only channel, most discussions will take place there. People are flattered to be part of the cool crowd, and even if your team has a "public" channel, nobody from your team is going to pay attention there, claiming too low a s/n ratio.
The more channels you have, the greater the pressure to take discussions to private messages for fear of being off-topic. This again contributes to a loss of knowledge sharing:
Slackerino1: How do you X?
Slackerino2: I know all about that, I'll DM you.
Slackerino3, a few hours later: I missed the answer, how do you X?
Shy Slackerino4, thinking: Hmm, I wish I knew how to do X, but I don't want to seem dumb and ask again.
Slackerino2: I know all about that, I'll DM you.
Slackerino3, a few hours later: I missed the answer, how do you X?
Shy Slackerino4, thinking: Hmm, I wish I knew how to do X, but I don't want to seem dumb and ask again.
Between all that, you end up constantly context switching between public channels, private channels, group DMs, and 1-1 DMs.
This is all somewhat generic to all chat systems, right?
But I find that Slack tries its hardest to keep you sucked in: notification icons, at-here/at channel alerts, emails, "All Unreads", “All Threads" etc. Run, little hamster, run in your wheel! Don’t you dare leave the app.
But I find that Slack tries its hardest to keep you sucked in: notification icons, at-here/at channel alerts, emails, "All Unreads", “All Threads" etc. Run, little hamster, run in your wheel! Don’t you dare leave the app.
And jeezus, threads. Threads are the most confusing thing about Slack. I do not understand _at all_ how those are supposed to work, how they are supposed to help.
Sometimes replies to a previous message are hidden from me, and I have to click to expand; other times, the message is quoted. “All Threads" is newest on top, while regular chats are newest at the bottom.
Anything involving threads makes me go 'W. T. F.'.
Anything involving threads makes me go 'W. T. F.'.
Another stress inducing thing that Slack does to keep you hooked is the entirely terrible "…is typing". I know that it's designed to keep me in the app, to not let me leave. And it works. I hate it with a passion.
(To wit: )
And then you have people DM'ing you "hi”, then wait for your reply. Da fuq? Just ask your question. If I'm there, I'll respond.
Seriously, I'm going to reply to the next person who asks "yt?” with "no".
Seriously, I'm going to reply to the next person who asks "yt?” with "no".
With everybody hating on emails, I now spend 3/4 of my day bouncing between channels and DMs. It creates the illusion of productivity, but really is mentally exhausting busy work. At the end of the day, I’m worn out, but I have nothing to show for.
👇
Go ahead, tell me that I'm using it wrong. Tell me I'm a curmudgeon. I know.
But just like Twitter or Facebook, Slack is intentionally trying to keep you in-app, keep you "engaged", and that conflicts with getting actual work done.
But just like Twitter or Facebook, Slack is intentionally trying to keep you in-app, keep you "engaged", and that conflicts with getting actual work done.
And that is what really grinds my gears.
Tune in next time, when I share my feelings about Jira. (Hint: they are not very positive.)
Tune in next time, when I share my feelings about Jira. (Hint: they are not very positive.)
