And yet, it does a similar thing as every chat application ever, be it IRC, MSN, Skype (previous work communication tool), Lync, probably some HP and IBM solution, and what have you. I don't know why Slack seems to be perceived as that much more distracting. Maybe because they're doing something right and making everyone want to use it much more for everything?

I'm no big IRC user, but when I joined some of the open source IRC channels, there was activity all the time; how is that less distracting?

Also, do not disturb and 'quit' are always an option.

IRC is distracting!

MSN/Skype/etc. are all IM-style clients, so you have to actually select a person to talk to rather than just dropping an @everyone. They vaguely support group chat but it's not the default. I would like Slack a lot more if they emphasized individual and ad-hoc group/topic chats. They support them, of course, but large channels are the main focus and the UI steers you there.

Lync/Skype had a persistent chat room product/extension that you could essentially use like Slack.

I'm not sure anybody really did, but you could...

We do. It's awful, but irreplaceable.

Actually, the terrible UI may well be a benefit. I've worked in a company with heavy investment in Slack, too, and its ease of use I think contributed heavily to the low S:N ratio of channels with high population. Lync's group chat is so painful to use that, unless it's important, we don't.

That was my second thought. My first was "when did Microsoft enter the revolution"

It's only all-hands and agenda-less if you use it that way. My team spins up small, feature-specific rooms where only relevant people are present.

How did slack take away your email?

I treat slack as an async alternative to voice and video... maybe I'm doing it wrong?

Because people use it as an alternative to email? They obviously weren't saying "Slack literally took away my ability to email" they were referring to how everyone is actually using Slack to talk to each other

> How did slack take away your email?

Through network effects and corporate norms.