We have recently launched our own Slack group in an effort to facilitate better communication amongst Redeemer members. This group will eventually replace our men’s and women’s email lists on Google Groups.
Why Slack?
- Slack allows for different “channels” that you can choose to follow. If you have found yourself frustrated with the many emails on the Google Groups lists that don’t apply to you, but you still want to stay connected, this is a great option!
- The Google Groups have caused some unnecessary separation in communication. You may have noticed that the men’s list often contains interesting discussions on theology that don’t make it to the women’s list, while the women’s list is far more likely to contain prayer requests. With Slack, we can get rid of that separation without overwhelming everyone’s email inbox.
- Slack organizes topics quite well. All replies to individual posts are hidden by default. If you want to view the replies, it’s just one click to see them all. If you don’t, you can easily just scroll past–no more deleting multiple emails on a topic that doesn’t apply to you.
- Slack is more versatile than email lists. It’s easy to view just the discussion threads that you’ve started or replied to by selecting “Threads” in the sidebar. You can easily opt in and out of different channels, or just “mute” a channel if you want to peruse it, but don’t want notifications. And just like with email, you can message someone directly without including the whole group.
How do I get set up?
- You should have received an invitation to your email. If you haven’t, please contact Joshua Torrey.
- Once you get the invitation, click “Join Now.” You will be promoted to enter your name and create a password. You can then fill out your profile. Please be sure to include a picture of yourself.
- Slack will run in your browser by default, but consider downloading the desktop or mobile app.
- Once you’re in, you will see a list of channels on sidebar on the left. You can right-click any of these to mute the channel, leave it entirely, or set your notification preferences.