Chat service: Slack
Related pages
Slack is a chat service used by a number of groups and departments, including Departmental Computing Officers (DCOs) and other key IT related staff across the University.
Staff with Slack accounts have access to two general access channels, and to any private channels used by their group or department. The open channels are used primarily by IT Services and DCOs to discuss IT related issues:
- IT Emergency Comms
- DCO chat
Note: this service was previously provided using HipChat.
Overview
Eligibility
Access is available to members of staff in participating departments or groups, including DCOs.
Access is not available to all departments by default - please contact IT Services if your department or group wish to use Slack.
We are not able to give students on the DCO mailing list access to Slack.
About the channels
DCO chat is for sharing knowledge and seeking advice from other DCOs.
IT Emergency Comms is used by IT Services staff to discuss major service outages. DCOs can use the room to track how an incident is being handled, but would not normally be expected to join the discussion. We may ask for specific input from DCOs - for example, updates on how their area is affected.
Private (restricted access) channels may be set up which are specific to your department, group, or team.
Getting started
Please email itsupport@york.ac.uk to request an account.
Access to Slack is via your University Google account, so please choose the "Sign in with Google" option when logging in.
Apps
Desktop apps are available to download for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android:
Mobile apps are available via the App Store, Google Play, or the Microsoft Store.
Guidelines
IT Emergency Comms
Only use the IT Emergency Comms channel to discuss an emergency situation. The definition of 'emergency' is necessarily loose, but it would normally be a situation which affects a significant number of staff and/or students, or impacts on business-critical services.
Please don't use the channel to ask whether a specific service is running or to report a problem affecting your department: the Library & IT Help Desk should be your first port of call.
To maintain the focus of the channel, discussion is led by members of IT Services. We may ask for specific input from DCOs - for example, updates on how their area is affected.
Discussion within IT Emergency Comms should be treated as confidential unless stated otherwise, and should not be shared.
Be aware that the discussion is often of a diagnostic nature, rather than confirmed facts.
Once the situation has been resolved and communications completed, discussion should move elsewhere.
DCO chat
This channel can be used to share knowledge and to seek advice from other DCOs.
Members of IT Services may use the channel, but it shouldn't be used as a way to raise an issue with IT Services.
General
Please be aware that the records of any channel may be subject to a Freedom of Information request - be particularly careful about discussing details relating to individuals.
Help & troubleshooting
We provide more advice on using Slack, including use of mentions and notification settings, on a wiki page:
Library & IT Help Desk
If you're having any problems using Slack, get in touch with the Library & IT Help Desk.
Our commitments
| Service status | Live and supported service. |
|---|---|
| Hours of service | 24/7 |
| Service support | For help and support with this service, contact the Library & IT Help Desk. |
| Hours of support | Help from the Library & IT Help Desk is available 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday. |
| Target availability |
General IT Services targets: |
| Our performance |
Our service standards have been produced in consultation with our customers, and monitor the quality, timeliness and access to facilities and services: |
|
Complaints procedure |
If you wish to give us general feedback on this service, please see our Feedback page for ways to get in touch. If you wish to make a complaint, please see our complaints procedure. |