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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.
- App (Android/iOS/Linux/macOS/Windows): https://mattermost.com/apps/
- Documentation: https://docs.mattermost.com/index.html

Setup
- Security: click on the profile (top-right), “Profile”, “Security”, enable “Multi-factor Authentication”
- Channels - General
  - Town Square (system default; may be renamed as “General”): all members are added automatically, can be used for general discussion
  - Off-Topic (system default; may be renamed as “Chat”): for non-work-related conversations
  - Announcement: for important announcements
  - Lab meeting: for regular meetings; use threads to keep meeting minutes
  - Journal club: for sharing papers/comments
- Channels - Others
  - Project-based channels, one per project. May be Public or Private, depending on the nature of the project or the team culture
- Direct messages
  - For direct communication between two individuals or among a small group
- Additional functionalities
  - Poll plugin: for creating poll; type /poll to use
Mattermost messages
- Can be deleted/edited (pros/cons)
- Can tag people
- Can be marked as “unread”
- Can add a reminder set at a specific time
Mattermost 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