Kuo Lab Wiki

User Tools

Site Tools

You are here: start » tutorials » group_chat
tutorials:group_chat

Table of Contents

Group Chat

Intro

  • Group chat tools (e.g., Slack, Discord, Mattermost) can be highly effective for team communication
    • Concept: a platform for work-related communication; no notification outside of working hours.
    • Email: for external and formal communication
    • Real-time message (e.g., LINE, phone): reserved for emergency and messages that require real-time response. Limit the usage.
  • Mattermost is an open source option that can be self-hosted. This is attractive in terms of information security/privacy and cost.
  • For IPMB Users:
    • The email module is not enabled, so “Forgot your password?” is not functional. Ask your lab PI or the IPMB IT office to reset your password if needed.
    • The storage space is limited. While it is possible to upload files to facilitate communication, please be careful with large files; sharing via external links or delete the files after discussion is recommended. Remember, this system is designed as a messaging platform, not a file-sharing service.

Mattermost Usage

  • Security: click on the profile (top-right), “Profile”, “Security”, enable “Multi-factor Authentication”
  • Channels
    • System Default
      • Town Square (can be renamed as “General”): all members are added automatically, can be used for general discussion
      • Off-Topic (can be renamed as “Chat”): for non-work-related conversations
    • Public (to be created; useful for research labs)
      • Announcement: for important announcements
      • Lab meeting: for regular meetings; use threads to keep meeting minutes
      • Journal club: for sharing papers/comments
    • Project-based channels, one per project. May be Public or Private, depending on the nature of the project or the team culture
    • Managers: Add appropriate users after creating channels
    • Users: click on “Add channels”, select “Browse channels”, then join those public ones that you find relevant
  • Direct messages
    • For direct communication between two individuals or among a small group
  • Messages
    • Can be deleted/edited (pros/cons)
    • Can tag people (use @)
    • Use the “Message Priority” function (“!” icon) to set as Important or Urgent as needed.
    • Can be marked as “unread”
    • A reminder can be set at a specific time
    • Reply to a message to start a thread
      • Useful to keep messages organized
      • For example, in the “Lab meeting” channel, start a message with the date of the meeting, then everyone reply to that first message as a way of keeping minutes
  • Additional functionalities
    • Poll plugin: for creating poll; type /poll to use
  • Playbooks
    • Predefined templates for to-do lists
    • Useful for tracking recurring tasks
      • Batches of the same experiment
      • To-do for new lab members
      • To-do for lab members who are leaving
tutorials/group_chat.txt · Last modified: 2024/12/06 23:17 by chkuo