Comment
Comment by hfauq
The online presence indicator is one of the problems created by Slack. Using real-time chat is the actual problem, whether it's Slack or Hipchat, or anything alike. Real-time is great sometime, but I don't think you should use it all the time:
- Real-time chat happens quickly — one line at a time — discouraging full, thoughtful conversations.
- Topics are all jumbled together in a channel so it’s nearly impossible to piece together the full conversation.
- Important team knowledge — like what decision did we make and why? — gets buried and lost within hours (even with powerful search).
- The real-time nature of communication excludes anyone who’s not there in the moment it takes place.
- Constant notifications eat into your time and attention.
- Even if you’ve turned off notifications, the fear of missing out on something important keeps pulling you back into the app.
- It slowly creates a culture that prioritizes being available over doing good work.