Slack and Managing Notifications

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Joining Slack
• Slack Mobile App
• Slack Channels
• Hobby Channels
• Notifications

Slack is the main platform that we (Bakar Labs Staff) use for sending information, updates, and notices to the community. As such, it is extremely important that you join the building Slack and are able to receive these notifications. This article will give an overview of several different aspects of using our Slack.

Joining Slack

    When you first start the onboarding process to begin working at Bakar Labs, you will receive an email invitation to join Slack. By accepting this invitation, you will be able to access the building Slack and our various channels. If you cannot find your invitation, please submit a ticket and we can resend the invitation.

Slack Mobile App

    In addition to the browser/desktop version of Slack, Slack is also available as a mobile app. We highly recommend downloading this app for your phone so that you can receive notifications at all times, especially in case of building emergencies. For example, in the event of a fire or other emergency building evacuation, Slack would be how we notify you that the building is safe to re-enter, and you would need to have Slack on your mobile device to receive that notification.

Slack Channels

Our Slack has a couple of important channels for you to be in (and a couple of fun ones too!):

#bl-staff-announcements: This is the main channel we (the Bakar Labs team) use for sending out building updates to the community. It also has a number of useful and important links pinned at the top

#bl-staff-programming: This channel is for the Bakar Labs and BBH teams to send out announcements about upcoming events, opportunities, and programming happening in the building

#community-labs-and-office: This channel is for the community (you!) to ask questions of the staff and other companies, as well as a place for lost & found, and any lab supplies you may need to request or be able to offer to the building

#community-social-events: For all the fun stuff happening in and around the building, from pictures taken at building events to leftover food to gatherings and meet-ups happening outside Bakar Labs

#perishables: For notifications about perishable deliveries. If a perishable item has arrived for you, you will be notified here

Company Channel: For when there is something that only pertains to your company. This includes visitors and food deliveries, as well as notifications about things occurring in your specific lab/office space

Specialized lab channels: These include channels for the TC and Microbial rooms, channels for each of the open labs, and channels for some pieces of specialized equipment. They are used for notifications or questions specifically from or to users of that space or equipment

Hobby Channels

From tennis matches to weekly crafting, these channels cover various interests you might have, and offer opportunities to connect with others in the community who share those interests

• If you're ever looking for one of these channels, you can search for and join them by going to "More" on the left hand side and then selecting "Channels." This will open up a browser where you can see all the channels you are in, as well as open channels you can join

• Currently our hobby channels are:

  • #hobby-crafty-bakar-friends

  • #hobby-tennis

  • #hobby-book-club

  • #hobby-outdoor-enthusiats

  • #hobby-bakar-gamers

  • #hobby-movies-and-music

Notifications

    With so much going on in the building, there can be quite a lot of notifications sent out in a day. We understand that you are busy and don't want all those notifications, so here are some suggestions for how to receive critical notifications without being bothered by irrelevant ones. Note: If you change your notification settings in the browser/desktop version, those changes will also affect your mobile notifications

Method 1: Notification settings

    By default, Slack will send you notifications for all messages in all channels that you are in. If you would instead like to only receive important messages, or messages intended for you directly, you can change what notifications Slack sends you.

   To do so, click on the icon for your profile in the bottom left corner. If you've given yourself a profile picture, it will be that picture, or it will be a colored square with your first initial. Once you've clicked on that, a menu will appear. Select "Preferences"

   This will pop-up a new window, where you can see your notification settings at the top. Under the "Notify me about..." header, select "Direct messages, mentions & keywords". By doing that, you will only receive notifications for messages sent directly to you, or messages where you were tagged (including important announcements, which are tagged with @channel or @here). If you'd like to get notified about certain phrases, you can enter them as keywords by scrolling down this window

Method 2: Muting channels

    If you'd like to receive notifications for all messages in some channel (such as your company channel or the main #bl-staff- channel) but not others (like the #perishables channel), you can choose to mute a specific channel. To do so, right click on the channel name and select "Mute channel" on the menu that appears. 

    In this same menu, you can also select the next option down, "Change notifications," and set specific notification settings for each channel.