Cliq 2019 update: #3 Optimize your chat time with @mentions and #tags

Hello readers,

This is the third post in Cliq 2019 update series. Today we are gonna see in detail about @mentions and #tags —one of the simplest and basic features, but pack quite a punch if used effectively. Let's see what they hold.

Why do you need @mentions?

@mentions are used to tag people, and tagging users for messages meant specifically for them, saves a great deal of time!

Wondering how it works? Well let's take the following scenario.

A discussion on how to fix the breakage that happens when using a certain menu, is going on in the #development@zylker channel. A few teammates talk at length on it citing various forums and use cases to fix it and finally arrive at a possible code structure. Now Ryan the developer in-charge of implementing it, is busy with another task and has this conversation on mute! The team-mates don't want to interrupt Ryan with the opinions, however they want Ryan to be aware of the decision.

So now the teammates just @mention Ryan next to the solution. Ryan will receive a notification only for the mentioned message ( even if the channel is on mute!) , effectively letting him know of the decision.

So, when an @mention is done to tag a user, that user will receive a notification for it along with a count in the mentions tab at topbar.

These @mentions can also be used to refer to a particular user who is not part of that chat. On doing so, the mentioned user will not get notified as they do not belong to that chat. The user who mentioned will get a prompt to include the tagged user in the conversation so that they can view the messages.

Take a look at the following image. In the first chat window @mention is used to point to a particular user, and in the second chat window it is used to tag a user.

@user 1, @user2, @user 3, @user 4, @user 5....., @user n ~( ´•︵•` )~

Cut the above noise by simply using @participants and @available special mentions.

@participants - is to notify all users of that chat or channel

@available - is to notify users who are web/mobile available now

So when do you use it?

When you want to convey a message to all participants you can use the @participants mention, and when you want to get an immediate answer or ask something important, just simply use @available to grab the attention of all who are online and available. The @available is more like standing from your desk and talking to your teammates available at work.

Now moving on, we have something called as Permissions in channels wherein you can set the rules for all channel participants. As the channel admin, under Permissions you can configure who can use these mentions in channels.

Say to maintain the channel #server-alerts without unnecessary alerts, the channel admin can disable mention permissions for all users except for moderators.

#tags to tag channels

You can use #tags to notify or tag another channel, i.e. you can tag #channelB from #channelA.

Example: Scott sees quite a few Reminder module tasks open beyond due date, when the automated daily updates are posted in #updates@zylcal channel. So he notifies it the devs of reminder module by simply tagging #reminders@zylcal channel.

Now the members of #reminders will see an info message in their channel as 'Scott mentioned this channel in #updates'. On clicking the info message, a pop-up will appear on the right side of the screen displaying the recent messages of the channel that they were tagged from, letting them know of Scott's message for them.

The below image is an example of the above scenario.

A treat for night eyes!

Go easy on your eyes when burning the midnight oil with the new Night Mode. In web and desktop apps, just click on your profile picture in the top right corner, and in the panel that appears find the Night Mode toggle. In mobile apps you can find it under Settings.

And it's a wrap for today! Hope this post decoded @mentions and #tags for you. Do make use of them in your day-to-day conversations and let us know your feedback.

A few help links to learn more:
1. @mentions and #tags in channels work according to channel levels, learn in detail here - Channel @Mentions and #Tags

2. To know more about referencing a user in chat, check out this help page - @Mentions in Chats.

Until next time

Princy

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