Every unnecessary ping costs someone their focus — here's how to spend that currency wisely.
They are not interchangeable. Each one notifies a different set of people.
Notifies only members who are currently active and online. A gentler option when your message is time-sensitive but not an emergency.
Notifies everyone in the channel regardless of their status, timezone, or Do Not Disturb setting.
Notifies every person in the workspace. Only works in #general. Treat it like a company-wide PA system — use extremely sparingly.
When in doubt, reach for @here over @channel. Or better yet: just post the message. People who are around will see it.
When you type @channel, Slack sends a notification to every single person in that channel — whether they're presenting to a client, fast asleep in a different timezone, or have specifically set themselves to Do Not Disturb.
If what you're posting can wait even an hour, it doesn't need @channel. Post the message. People who are watching will see it. People who aren't will catch up — and that's fine.
Overuse trains people to ignore it. When you actually need their attention, you've already spent that trust.
If you're in a direct message with one person and you type @theirname, you haven't helped anyone. They were already notified the moment you sent the message. The tag is redundant — and it has a habit of reading as passive-aggressive, like a formal demand for acknowledgement.
Just type the message.
Exception: In a group DM with multiple people, tagging a specific person makes sense — it tells them the message is directed at them rather than the group.
@mentions, channel vs. chat notifications, and activity feed hygiene — coming soon.