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A major reason for departures at Slack was “remote work request rejected” (twitter.com)

594 points by luu · 2325 days ago · 282 comments on HN

Article summary

A former Slack employee shared that one of the major reasons for voluntary departures at Slack before COVID-19 was the rejection of requests to work remotely. This contrasts with Slack's current stance as a proponent of remote work. The comment sparked a discussion about the importance of flexible work arrangements and the reliability of communication tools. The conversation also touched on the limitations of modern computing infrastructure and the nostalgia for simpler, more lightweight technologies like IRC.

Main themes

  • remote work
  • communication tools
  • IRC vs Slack
  • technology nostalgia
  • infrastructure reliability
  • bloat in modern web applications

What commenters say

  • Some argue that IRC is a reliable and efficient communication tool that can be used as a fallback when other platforms fail.
  • Others point out that IRC has its own set of limitations and shortcomings, such as the lack of built-in reliability and message acknowledgement.
  • There is a perceived trade-off between the simplicity and efficiency of older technologies like IRC and the feature-richness of modern platforms like Slack.
  • The bloated nature of modern web applications is seen as a major issue, with some advocating for a return to simpler, more lightweight designs.
  • The use of third-party servers and clients can help address some of the limitations of IRC, such as file sharing and message acknowledgement.
  • Some commenters express nostalgia for the simplicity and efficiency of older technologies, while others prefer the convenience and feature-richness of modern platforms.