Better than "Skype with a way better UI".

* it has a history I can actually search. Skype used to have this, but removed it when they rewrote it in Electron. !@#$ you to whoever at Microsoft decided to get rid of that; I used chat history search every day as part of my workflow.

* it has an API/plugin ecosystem. Admittedly, that's a walled garden so it's a double-edged sword. But for businesses that's awesome. Skype used to have an API but that's been deprecated. Conjecture: from abuse?

* it has security. I can log on to a private Slack and know that the people in there belong there. I can search for people on Slack and know that I'm communicating with who I intended to communicate. On Skype, you search for your coworker by typing in their name and you end up finding some other person instead. Hope you didn't just reveal corporate secrets to China.

Slack doesn't come without its own set of gripes, for sure. Let me enumerate some of them:

* Information density isn't configurable. I want a teeny tiny font. It's better than what Skype has become but still not as configurable as chat clients from the 90's

* Resource hog. Seriously, we've gone so far backwards it's appalling. Chat clients from the 90s didn't need anywhere near as much memory or CPU as Electron does and they were just as functional (sans audio/video/link preview).

I'm sure there's others but I'm tired

I could also add to your list that Slack actually works in other platforms than Windows. Yes it's Electron but at least it's guaranteed to work, unlike Skype for Linux or Skype for Mac.

Funny enough I use Linux and am using the new Skype. The old Skype on Linux wasn't perfect but it was leagues and bounds ahead of the current Electron-based garbage.

Oh, it has history... in Outlook, that's like Edge saving your bookmarks in Excel kind of absurd.

But I agree it works like shit, half the conversations aren't there and I can't figure out a pattern or why.

> Information density isn't configurable

Just zoom in/out with Cmd-+ / Cmd--, it's just a browser after all.

That address font size issues, but not relative sizing or spacing issues.

Most people are too arrogant to communicate asynchronously successfully. People think that chat is like being on a telephone or in person and that they can demand one's full, exclusive attention. That is some serious arrogance bordering on narcissism when done in personal conversations. At work, it could me more tolerable, but the downside is that no work gets done. Managers need to start to understand this. If you keep someone's full attention for eight hours a day, you should expect no progress. Of course, managers don't understand this either because they are like everyone else described above. In some places, this is understood. I often go days with only a few slack messages at my work, so it's hardly impossible. Then again, we are a fully remote, async business. If I'm not responding, it's rude to demand that I respond, except for pre-scheduled meetings. Not even for emergencies like servers being down. If you have something urgent, call. If not, wait. It's very simple. It works great.

It’s also possible to mute chats, disable notifications and revisit them periodically.

You get to decide if you want to communicate asynchronously.

I don't see how this helps when someone is demanding your attention in your personal life or at work. But it will definitely make things worse with people who demand exclusive attention and on the job possibly get you fired.

The clichéd answer on HN would be to change your employer if your working environment doesn't allow you to concentrate on the job.

As for devops alarms, those should be firing on multiple protocols and platforms anyhow.

Anything else can usually be better accomplished by announcing "office hours" during which you can be reached 1-on-1.