Slack

Slack guide from creating an account to sharing ideas

Create an Account

There are 2 ways to create an account for Slack

If you have an @fernbanklinks.com email address:

• continue to step 1.

If you do not have an @fernbanklinks.com email address (ie. you are a parent or mentor):

• send an email to [e-mail]. Ask for a Slack

invite, then skip to step 4.

1. Go to https://fernbanklinks.slack.com/

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1. Create an account

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1. Enter your first and last name. No caps, numbers, or hyphens. Click “Create Account”

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1. Open the email sent to your @fernbanklinks.com (or otherwise specified) email. It contains instructions to setup your username and password.

Install and View Slack

Slack is available on all major platforms. It can be used online and in desktop or mobile apps.

To use Slack online, go to https://fernbanklinks.slack.com/

OR

Download the Slack app:

and follow the steps below to log in.

Log in

When signing in to the Slack online or in the app on Mac, Windows, Android or iOS:

1. You will be prompted to enter a domain. Enter “fernbanklinks”

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1. Enter the email your account is associated with.

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1. You will be prompted with two options; Type Password, and Send Magic Link.

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If you remember your password, select type password and enter it to log in.

If you don’t remember your password, you can click Send Magic Link, and you will receive an email with a link that will log you in automatically.

Using Slack

Channels

Slack is organized by separating different topics of discussion into “channels”. Each channel is an individual chat room with a certain focus (e.g. marketing, outreach, or buildteam).

Channels are identified by a hash, #, and the name of the channel (e.g. #marketing is the marketing channel).

There are both public and private channels. Any user can join a public channel by clicking the word CHANNELS in the sidebar and selecting a channel.

A private channel is only visible to those who are in the channel. You must be invited in order to join a private channel, or create the channel yourself. When creating new channels, you have the option to make it public or private. A public channel can be made private, but not vise versa.

#announcements

All users are automatically added to #announcements and are required to be in it. This is where all important information goes, including meeting times, schedule changes, and travel details. If it is need to know info, it will be posted in #announcements. Do not reply to messages in this channel. It is meant to be an uninterrupted stream of important info.

#generalchat

This channel is used for general discussions and talking with the whole team at once. If you do have a question about a meeting or general topic, this is the channel to ask it in.

Notifications

The awesome thing about Slack is that you have fine control over the notifications you receive. Per each channel, you can limit message notifications to only when you are mentioned, or mute the channel entirely.

You can also set individual notification preferences for desktop and mobile.

Slack Bots and Integrations

Slack supports the integration of other internet services directly into conversations. LINKS uses a variety of integrations that allow Slack to seamlessly communicate with the other collaboration services the team uses.

Google Calendar Bot

The Google Calendar automatically posts reminders and alerts when calendar events are updated or upcoming. This allows you to always be aware of meetings just by checking Slack. The event name links to the Google Calendar and the location links directly to Google Maps.

TBA Slackbot

This is an integration of The Blue Alliance through a chatbot. You can ask TBA Slackbot the status of a team, receive match results, and check event rankings. Send “help” to view the full list of commands you can use with TBA Slackbot.

Chatting

Sending Slack messages is as simple as sending a text message, type and send. Slack does have some features to add to the basic texting experience. You can bold, italicize, and add other styling to make your message more effective.

Slack also has built in emoji and allows teams to create custom emoji. LINKS custom emoji include the face of every mentor.

Perhaps the most useful feature of the chat is tagging. You can mention another user by using @theirusername. You can also reference another channel by simply typing the #channelname. Tags are highlighted in blue text. Tagging another user is a good way to make sure they see the message, as it guarantees sending a notification to that user.

The feature is not limited to tagging individual users. You can all users in the channel with @channel.

One of the main ways to use integrations is through chat commands. A command is a message starting with a forward slash followed directly by a known command, such as “/poll”. Typing “/” without sending will display the full list of commands available.

Direct Messages

Any user can chat directly with any other user in a one-on-one private message. Direct messages can also be with multiple people.

Since all team members have a Slack account, DMs allow everyone on the team to be able to contact any team member.

See how to start a direct message below.