- Online Geniuses is a free SEO & Digital Marketing Community based on Slack Online Geniuses is available to thousands of members as a free Slack community, but also includes a Pro community of dedicated marketers, an online marketplace, and talent network.
- Slack Is a Communications Tool, But Also Much More. So, there you have it-now you know what Slack is and how it works. The tool is user-friendly but also has a wide range of features. Besides general communication, Slack is also great for helping your team manage their projects better.
R4DS Online Learning Community is a supportive and responsive online space for learners and mentors to gather and work through the R for Data Science.
When members of our team fell ill in March, we relied on each other for emotional support. In creating the COVID-19 support group, we wanted to provide others with that same opportunity to feel connected and supported through infection, symptoms, and recovery. As we continue to navigate the healing process, we could not be more grateful for the support group. It’s been beautiful to watch others struggling with COVID-19 find community amidst isolation, affirm each other’s experiences, and talk one another through tough nights. The group continues to be a source of strength and light in our lives, and we want to sincerely thank everyone who has been a part of this incredible community.
To support and learn more about Patient Led Research, a team that was formed in our group, click here.
Body Politic started the COVID-19 support group after Founder and EIC Fiona Lowenstein, and Creative Director Sabrina Bleich became sick with coronavirus in early March. After falling ill, we quickly realized that there was not enough online content or resources dedicated to people struggling with coronavirus. As we scrolled through Instagram feeds filled with tips on navigating boredom during quarantine, or how not to catch the virus, we felt increasingly isolated, misunderstood, and ignored. With news of infection rates rising, we knew a community of people like ourselves existed, and was growing - we just needed a way to reach each other.
We launched the Body Politic COVID-19 support group on March 26 in a small Instagram group chat. During those early days, while Fiona and Sabrina were still navigating acute physical symptoms, our incredible Operations Manager and ally, Lida Rubanava, stepped in to help us develop the group - she’s been an indispensable member of the support group admin team ever since. Since our launch, we’ve had over 25,000 people sign up to join our patient-only support group (which currently houses close to 11,000 members) and our Ally Support Network. We have migrated platforms to Slack to accommodate the growth and allow for small discussion channels based on community or topic. Our group consists of people from all over the world who have tested positive, are experiencing symptoms, or are recovering from COVID-19. Our discussion groups includes 50+ channels for based around different communities and topics. Some of our channels include one for those symptomatic for 30+ days or 90+ days, caretakers of sick friends or relatives, those who have recovered from being on ventilators, those experiencing known and lesser known symptom groups such as respiratory, neurological, GI, and others, and forums to discuss mental health, financial and employment concerns, medical advocacy, along with many others.
If you have tested positive, are experiencing symptoms, or are recovering from COVID-19, you can sign up for our support group here. We just need to know a little bit about what you’re going through to verify that you’re a real person in need of support, but all information you share on that form is private and will only be accessible to admins of the group. Due to extremely high demand, it may take us up to a week to add you to the platform but we promise you will hear from us.
There are lots of ways you support our group if you have not been infected with COVID-19, or have completely recovered.
- Request to join our allies support network. We are interested in hearing from healthcare providers, wellness practitioners, lawyers, and any other professionals who are interested in providing support to our group.
- Donate to our GoFundMe - our support group is run by a committed team of volunteer admins, most of whom are also COVID-19 patients or survivors. Help us maintain our Slack subscription and compensate our admins for their hard work.
- If you are a researcher interested in studying or collecting data on COVID-19 recoveries, please reach out to patient.research.covid19@gmail.com. We will review survey submissions and research opportunities to share with the support group as appropriate
- Are you affiliated with a company or non-profit that can support this work in some way? We’re open to partnerships that can offer support to our community and mission. Email info@wearebodypolitic.com with a short description of what you had in mind.
- Provide a discounted service to our community. Are you a therapist, yoga teacher, medical professional, chef, or someone who provides a service that you think would be helpful for our community of sick and recovering people? Email info@wearebodypolitic.com and we’ll determine if it’s a good fit to share.
- Apply to be a support group moderator. As our support group grows, we will need more moderators to manage conversation flow, and make sure members are following the groups’ rules and guidelines. Email info@wearebodypolitic.com, and we can tell you more about this opportunity.
If you are a reporter, please reach out to PR@wearebodypolitic.com to connect with members of the group. We are aiming to keep this a private space for those who are sick and recovering. If you are interested in learning more about the patient research team that formed in our group, and supporting that initiative, click here.
For such a tiny bubble, it sure causes a major headache.
As more and more people find themselves stuck working from home for the foreseeable future, an ever-growing number of Slack users are now faced with the same problem: How to appear as 'active' when they're actually.. not. Drivers sct usb devices.
For the unaware, Slack is a messaging tool that many workplaces (and friend groups) use to communicate remotely. Within the service, next to your online handle, rests a little telltale bubble. Depending on whether or not you're currently using the service, Slack will either display a green bubble for active or an empty bubble for away.
As you might imagine, this is a helpful tool for bosses trying to keep tabs on their employees; it's also the enemy of workers who are just trying to live their lives and stop thinking about the coronavirus for even a goddamn second.
Which brings us to the issue at hand: Keeping those bubbles green. Slack says it 'automatically determines your availability based on how consistently you're interacting with the app on your device.'
More specifically, Slack has a host of conditions it uses to determine whether or not that bubble shows you as working. If you're using the mobile Slack app, the bubble is green only when the app is open — it switches off the moment you toggle away. If you use the Slack desktop app or access Slack via a browser, then after 30 minutes of inactivity the jig is up.
Importantly, if you're using the Slack desktop app that's 30 minutes of 'system inactivity.' Whereas, if you're using a browser to access Slack, it's 30 minutes of 'browser inactivity.' Remember that distinction, because it matters.
'Note,' cautions Slack in bold type, 'There is no way to set yourself as permanently active.'
Which, OK, maybe. But that doesn't mean there aren't ways to trick the system into thinking you are active. Take, for example, this ingenious individual who, it appears, hooked their wireless mouse up to a toy train.
弊社はリモート勤務の際にPCのスリープとか操作中とかが管理者にバレる環境なので、常にマウス操作をしてるように見える装置を作りました。 pic.twitter.com/cYqoAHb6SB
— 赤祖父 (赤ソファ) (@akasofa) March 12, 2020
'We created a device that seems to always operate the mouse, because the environment in which the sleep or operation of the PC is remote to the administrator when working remotely,' reads the tweet translated (albeit poorly) by Twitter.
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If a work-from-home employee had their desktop Slack app open — say, for example, to the Direct Message channel with Slackbot — then the above contraption should keep their Slack bubble green for up to 30 minutes after the train stops moving. That's because there is general system activity of the mouse moving around (even if not specific browser activity).
But not all of us have toy trains sitting around ready to be repurposed. And that's OK because if you have a smartphone and an optical mouse, then you already have all you need to fool Slack and your (micro) manager.
'I think that if you put an optical mouse on the smartphone video, it will move irregularly,' reads the below tweet (again translated by Twitter). '(Lol) (Unverified)'
思い付きですが
光学式マウスならスマフォ動画の上に乗せておけば不規則な動きをすると思います！(笑)
(未実証) pic.twitter.com/dIS7kLke9j
— 池袋スイーツ侍 (@ike_sweets_smr) March 14, 2020
And guess what reader.. in my (admittedly limited) at-home test, the above hack actually worked. As long as your phone doesn't go to sleep (this is important, so keep it plugged in) and the video keeps playing, your optical mouse should move ever so slightly, tricking the desktop app version — not the browser version —of Slack into thinking you're still busy and not asleep in the next room.
For the test, I loaded up a random nature documentary on YouTube, turned my smartphone's brightness up to maximum, plugged the phone in, and placed my optical mouse directly on top of the screen. Then I set a 30-minute timer and walked away. Thirty-two minutes later, my editor confirmed my Slack status bubble was still green. (In a later test with a different video, the trick did not work. In other words, test this out first before you commit to your nap.)
SEE ALSO: 7 Slack privacy settings you should enable now
What makes this Slack hack even better is that it doesn't require installing a mouse-jiggling app, which could be a security risk.
Now, it's worth noting, that there's probably a much simpler way to do all of this. On an iPhone with the Slack app, you can set the phone's 'Auto-Lock' to never and then (with your phone plugged in) open the Slack app. This will likely work as well — remember, as long as 'Slack is open' on your mobile device, Slack says you'll be shown as active — although I didn't test it.
Slack Online Web
Importantly, your bosses may still suspect you're napping on the job when you don't respond to their repeated and frantic @yourname messages. But that's a small price to pay for the 45-minute nap you'll be too busy taking to care.
Slack Online Auction
UPDATE: July 1, 2020, 2:24 p.m. PDT: After months of (ahem) rigorous testing, I can confirm that setting your smartphone auto-lock to 'never' is a much simpler — and consistently successful — approach. Also, you can use this method on the go and still have your phone with you.
Here's what you do: In the Slack app, in a direct message to yourself, drop in a random GIF. Then, when you want to keep your Slack status active (after setting auto-lock, under 'Display & Brightness' on an iPhone, to 'never'), go into that DM with yourself and click on the GIF.
You now technically have the app open, and, because you're in a DM with yourself, the chances of your thigh accidentally DMing your boss have plummeted. Turn down the brightness on your screen to conserve battery life, slide that phone in your pocket, and be on your way.