Slack is a free web-based instant messaging platform that Madison DSA uses as its primary method for internal communications. New members are automatically invited to join DSA’s Slack workspace. Within our workspace, users can access a range of topically-focused discussion channels, can send members direct messages, and can search our Slack history from the last 90 days to find useful information.

Read more about Slack in the “Intro to Slack” section of Slack’s help center.

Joining the MADSA Slack

A “workspace” is an organizational account on Slack. Individuals can be members of multiple workspaces from multiple organizations. New members can join MADSA’s Slack workspace in one of two ways:

If you received an email invitation, follow these instructions to accept the invitation.
If you’ve lost your email invitation contact dsamadison@gmail.com for an invite.

Read Slack’s help guide for new users for more help setting up Slack.

Accessing Slack

Users can use Slack as a desktop download, in a browser, or on a mobile app.

In a Browser

You can access Slack in your web browser by going to www.slack.com, logging in, and selecting the Madison DSA workspace from the dropdown “LAUNCH SLACK” menu in the website’s header. You can also navigate directly to https://dsa-madison.slack.com/.

Using the Slack App

Slack has apps for both computers and mobile devices. Find the right download for your phone or computer at https://slack.com/downloads.

Having Conversations in the MADSA Slack

Conversations in Slack can happen in one of two ways: 1) via channels, which are topically-focused discussion boards, and 2) via direct messages with a specific user(s).

You can view all the channels you have already joined in the left sidebar of either the web-based version of Slack or the computer app. On your phone, you can view your channels in the “Home” screen for the MADSA workspace. Tip: You can right-click (long-press on mobile) a channel and star it to pin it to the top of your channel list and prioritize the channels most important to you.

Channels can also have “topics”, which are featured at the top of the window, just beneath the channel name. Many channels use the topic to add a quick description of what the channel is for, or to share links to upcoming meeting information (Zoom, agenda). Channels also have pinned messages (“pins”) and bookmarks that can be used to share important resources or guidelines. On mobile devices you may need to navigate to channel settings to find these.

Channels

Visit the Channel Directory for the most up-to-date list of channels you can join!

MADSA Slack Channels Directory - 2025

New members to MADSA’s workspace are automatically added to the following channels:

#_general: this channel is for organization-wide communication and discussion.
#_announcements: for sharing announcements about upcoming meetings, public statements, etc. Please keep use of this channel to official business only.
#_random: a place for non-work-related flimflam, faffing, hodge-podge or jibber-jabber you'd prefer to keep out of more focused work-related channels.
#_welcome: where members can introduce yourselves and get to know others in our chapter
#chapter-meetings: updates and reminders about upcoming membership meetings, and recaps of the minutes from membership meetings

Note: Do not use the @channel tag to notify all members in these channels without prior approval from the executive committee.

We also have additional channels focused on more specific topics. Anyone can join these channels and you can use them to communicate with working groups and committees. See below for instructions on joining new channels.

Read more about channels in Slack’s help center.

Joining Channels

There are several ways to join a channel, all located on the left sidebar. On the mobile app you may only be able to add yourself to new channels one at a time, instead of being able to select multiple at once.

Click the + next to the top of the channel list and select “Browse channels” in the pop-up box

Scroll down to the end of the channel list, and click “+ Add a channel”. This brings you to the Channel Browser.

In the listed menu at the top of the sidebar, click “More” and select “Channel Browser” in the drop-down menu. Within the Channel Browser, you’ll see an alphabetized list of all of the channels, and any descriptions of the channels. To the right of each channel, click the green “Join” button to join that channel. (image below)

Read more about how to join a channel and how to leave a channel in Slack’s help center.

Sending Direct Messages to Members

Users can send private messages directly to other members. To send a message, go to the left sidebar in either the web or desktop version of Slack, or the “Home” screen in the mobile app. Click the “plus” icon next to “Direct messages,” type in the name of the person you want to message, and select their name to begin your direct message.

You can also create group messages by selecting multiple members at once.

Read more about what direct messages are and sending and receiving messages in Slack’s help center.

Organizing Conversations with Threads

Threads keep conversations organized in Slack; they’re especially useful for channels or direct message conversations involving more than two users. Users can use threads in a couple different ways.

If you are posting about something and you know you’ll be sending multiple messages, you can start your conversation with a message like “Thread: [Topic]”, like Andy did here to share the agenda and Zoom info for a membership meeting. To read the messages in this thread, you would click the link that says “3 replies”; in the web or desktop app, the threaded messages would appear in a sidebar on the right side of the screen, and in the mobile app the threaded messages would appear in a new window.

Users can also start threads by responding to someone else’s comment. In the web or desktop app, hover over the comment you would like to respond to, click the chat bubble icon to create a thread, and start typing your message; in the mobile app, click the comment to view the option to start a thread.

Read more about threads in Slack’s help center.

Messaging Best Practices

Respectful Communication

Be comradely. Use patient and kind language when communicating with someone whose opinion may differ from yours. MADSA is a big-tent organization, which allows for diverse perspectives and ideologies to coexist. We may not all agree with each other all the time; debate shouldn’t be avoided, but should be approached with respect for others’ experiences and perspectives and as potential learning opportunities.
Be inclusive. All DSA spaces are meant to be welcoming, inclusive, and accepting of people with all backgrounds, identities, and experiences, regardless of gender, race, class, ethnicity, physical appearance, religion, cultural background, and personal political opinions. Refer to people by the names they prefer, and honor their preferences about gender identity. This organization exists to dismantle the systems of oppression related to the above characteristics, not to reinforce them.
Assume that people are posting genuinely. When people present new ideas or updated projects, accept it and avoid criticizing what they’ve done. Use constructive criticism and avoid harsh tones to foster a collaborative environment.
Be sensible. Our chapter Slack is accessible to all chapter members (and former members whose accounts have not yet been deactivated) but use your best judgment about what you share in public channels (e.g. don’t post about doing something illegal).
Please don’t spam multiple channels. If you have something to say that could be relevant to multiple channels, pick a single channel that is the most relevant and post your message there. After that, you can forward the message to other channels using the “forward” option for further visibility. On mobile you can long hold the message until you see the forward button, and on desktop, just hover over the message and click the arrow in the top right corner.

Message Formatting

If your message does get long, write it out readably. Use bulleted lists, bold and italic text styling to make sections of the message stand out, or use threaded replies to add more information. Embed links directly into the text (you can do this in Slack by highlighting text and pasting the link on top).
Be mindful of notification spam. In public channels, don’t send messages that are just “hey” or “hello” before another message with more substantial content. Sending greetings alone causes more notifications on the other person’s end, which can be burdensome. If you get everything you need to say into a single direct message, then that person will only receive one notification.
Use emoji reactions as quick message responses. Instead of sending short follow-up messages that indicate agreement, you can choose an emoji to react with instead. This cuts down on notifications, and doesn’t clutter the channel or thread with messages.

Getting Users’ Attention with Mentions

You can mention a specific user by typing @ followed by their username. Most users receive notifications for mentions, so this is a good way to get someone’s attention when having a conversation in a channel or in a direct message with multiple users.

Users can also use @channel to mention (and notify) an entire channel. This can be a useful way to flag high-priority messages, like meeting announcements, since users will get a notification as if they were receiving a direct message. This means that users who have a channel muted will still get your message, and users who rely on email notifications (which are limited to direct messages and mentions) will get your message too.

Note: Do not use the @channel tag in larger channels like #_announcements or #_general without authorization from the executive committee.

Read more about mentions in Slack’s help center.

Viewing Unread Messages

Unread messages, regardless of whether they’re in channels you follow or in direct member-to-member conversations, are all collected in the “All Unread” channel at the top of the left sidebar (in the web-based or desktop versions) or at the top of the “Home” screen (in the mobile app). When you have unread messages, they appear here and are segmented based on where they are from - i.e. all unread messages from a specific channel show up grouped together. If you do not see an “All Unread” option in your left sidebar, you can add it in the “Sidebar” section of your workspace preferences menu.

Read more about viewing unread messages in Slack’s help center.

Managing Notifications

Users can adjust notifications at a couple different levels: across the entire MADSA workspace, for specific channels, or for direct messages. Users can also adjust workspace preferences to receive email notifications for some missed conversations.

MADSA Workspace

Users can set notifications for the entire MADSA workspace in the “Notifications” section of your preferences menu (by clicking on your profile image in the left corner of the window). You can disable all notifications, receive notifications for direct messages and mentions, for keywords, or for every new message. Users can also set “Do Not Disturb” hours where all notifications are muted, and can adjust how they receive notifications (with a sound, with a badge, etc.).

Read more about notifications in the desktop app and notifications in the mobile app in Slack’s help center.

Channels & Direct Messages

Users can mute notifications for specific channels and direct message conversations. In the web or desktop app, right click on the channel or user whose messages you’d like to mute, and select “Mute.” In the mobile app, select the channel or conversation you’d like to mute, then click the icon to mute the conversation.

Read more about notifications in the desktop app and notifications in the mobile app in Slack’s help center.

Following Specific Messages

Users can follow a message to receive notifications anytime someone replies to it. This can be useful if you want to follow a specific conversation and don’t already receive notifications for every new message in a channel. To follow a message in the web or desktop app, hover over the message in question, select the icon for more actions, and click “Follow Message.” To do this in the mobile app, click on the message you want to follow, open the menu for more actions, and select “Follow Message.”

Read more about how to follow a message in Slack’s help center.

Email Notifications

Slack has a limited ability to send email notifications to users who do not check the app frequently. Users can adjust their workspace notification preferences to receive email notifications for mentions and direct messages. Email notifications can be triggered once you have been inactive on the app for a specific amount of time, and, as you receive notifications, you can opt for emails once every 15 minutes or once every hour. As an example, you can request email notifications for any mentions and direct messages that come in after you’ve been inactive on the app for 5 minutes, and you can request that these notifications be compiled into a single email per hour.

Read more about email notifications in Slack’s help center.

Searching Message History

Users can search the message histories of any conversations they have access to in MADSA’s workspace (including your direct messages and any channels that are public to all workspace members). MADSA has a free Slack workspace, which means we’re only able to see the last three months of message history in all channels.

Read more about searching your message history in Slack’s help center.