Slack: Mentioning User Groups in a Workspace

Environment

U-M Slack

Issue

What is a Slack user group? How does mentioning user groups work in a Slack workspace?

Resolution

Slack user groups

  • A Slack user group is a group of members in a workspace who often need to be notified at once.
  • You can mention a group's name (e.g., @admins) in a message the same way you @ mention another member of your workspace.
  • Once you mention a user group, you can click on the mention to view a list of all users in that group.
  • You can search for a list of all user groups in a specific workspace.
  • In U-M Slack, user groups are specific/unique to each workspace and can’t be used across all workspaces.

Mentioning user groups in a channel

  • Only the users who are already members of the channel will get a notification if the user group is mentioned.
  • If there are users who are not in that channel, Slackbot will show you a notice (visible only to you) in the channel after your message that states, "[Number] members of the @[NAME] group aren’t in this channel: [list of users that aren't in the channel]" with the button options to Invite Them, Do Nothing, or, for public channels only, Let Them Know.
    • If you click Invite Them, the users who aren't in the channel will be brought into the channel immediately. Be careful using this method in private channels, and make sure that you and others in the channel are okay with new people being added (and given access to all message history of the channel).
    • If you click Do Nothing, only the users who are currently in the channel will get a notification, and no new users from that user group will be invited to the channel.
    • If you click Let Them Know, the users who aren't in the public channel will get a Slackbot notice that they have been mentioned in a channel they are not in. They will have the option to view the message without joining the channel.

Mentioning user groups in a direct message (DM)

  • Only the users who are already members of the DM will get a notification if the user group is mentioned.
  • Users outside the DM do not get a notification and aren't added to the DM.
    • For example, if you mention @admins in a DM with another coworker who is an admin, they will get notified of the message, but no other admins will be notified of the message or be able to see it.

Additional Information

Need additional information or assistance? Contact the ITS Service Center.

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Related Articles (3)

Slack: Create and Modify User Groups
This article explains who can create user groups and how they can go about creating them in U-M Slack.
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Slack: Using Channel Mentions (@everyone, @channel or @here) in Workspaces
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