Channels

Public and private channels, #general, topics, announcement channels, notifications, archiving.

A channel is a conversation for a team, a shop, a project or a subject. Everything said there stays in one place for the people in it.

Public and private

• Public - anyone in the business can find it under Browse channels and join.
• Private - only the people added can see it. Its name doesn't show to anyone else.

#general has everyone with a Discuss role in it and can't be archived. Use it for news for the whole business.

Make a channel

1. Click + next to Channels.
2. Give it a short name, like sales or chennai-shop, and a line saying what it's for.
3. Choose Public or Private and add people.

Members and up can make channels unless an Admin turned that off in Settings; then Admins and Managers make them.

Channel settings

Open the channel's name at the top:

• Topic - a line shown under the name, e.g. "Opening on the 1st - snag list pinned".
• Who can post - Everyone, or Only admins for an announcement channel.
• People - add people, remove them, make someone an admin of the channel.
• Notifications - All messages, Only mentions or Nothing, and mute for a while. See Notifications, phone and email.
• Favourite - keeps the channel at the top of your list.

Leave or archive

Leave takes you out. Archive (channel admins, Admins and Managers) closes the channel: nothing new can be posted, but its messages stay readable and searchable. You can bring it back at any time.