[durzagott]

You can set yourself to Do Not Disturb mode, which is kind of the same thing. Notifications are muted and the sender sees a 'Zzz' symbol next to your name.

If someone sends you a direct message they have the option to interrupt you if it's really important.

[junke]

> Notifications are muted and the sender sees a 'Zzz' symbol next to your name.

That's a minor thing but 'Zzz' really sends the wrong signal to the sender: if you are not available, then you are sleeping (i.e. unproductive).

[dasmoth]

Agreed, and would probably go a bit beyond "minor".

Other chat systems offer the ability to attach a message to your AFK status, which can be pretty helpful for setting expectations about when you might be back. Last time I looked, Slack seemed kind-of resistant to doing anything like that.

[chrisan]

> That's a minor thing but 'Zzz' really sends the wrong signal to the sender: if you are not available, then you are sleeping (i.e. unproductive).

Working remotely, is that a bad thing? If you are unavailable due to deep coding or a need for a nap does it matter?

[junke]

Ideally, only results should matter. But 'Zzz' somehow reinforces the default assumption that a remote worker will try to be paid for slacking off. Now, I am going back to bed.

[cyrus_]

I mean, the product itself is named Slack...

[junke]

Yes, it's terrible. How can I pretend to be working with such a name...