This tutorial is constantly being updated.

What is Slack?

Here in the Vast Empire, we use a communication method known as 'Slack'. It's essentially a chat room system, with different rooms for the Navy and Army, their sub divisions, as well as a few general purpose rooms used for chatting about anything and everything. It's totally free, and very easy to use.



How Do I Sign Up?

To be able to access our Slack network, you need to submit your email in the space provided here. Just enter your email in the box provided, and you'll receive a link to a Slack sign-up page.



Enter your VE account name as your username, and choose whatever password you'll remember. Then click next, and you'll be redirected to the Vast Empire's Slack page.

That's it! You're all signed up and ready to use Slack!



How to Log Into Slack

Slack can either be used directly from your browser, or by downloading it onto your computer, tablet, and/or phone (iOS, Android, or Windows Phone).

If you're using your browser, you can go to http://vastempire.slack.com/ directly. If you're using a downloaded app, then you will be presented with a screen like the one below:



In the box that says "teamdomain" you need to put "vastempire", then click continue.

You will then find yourself at a sign in page. Enter the username and password that you used during the initial setup (should be your VE account name and password of your choice).

Congratulations! You've logged into Slack!



Channels

To organise Slack better, we currently have 11 channels different channels (correct at time of writing). You will find these different channels on the left hand side of the screen, all with a # in front of the name.



You will automatically join the #general channel, which is for, as the name suggests, general chatter about anything. It's not a place to be silly or crude, however; for +18 conversations, we have the #nightshift channel, and for playing around with Maroy's bots we have the #random channel.

To see what other channels are available, click the word 'Channels' shown at the top of the above picture.



Most of the channel names are pretty self-explanatory, but if you are unsure then each channel has it's own description underneath the name. To join a channel, simply click on the one you want to join and, on the next screen, either click the 'Join Channel' button or press the Enter key.



Direct Messages

Using direct messages is much like using channels. You can find it underneath the Channels section on the left hand side. Just click on the name  you want to send a message to and start typing! If a name that you want to send a message to is not present, then, just like with Channels, click the words 'Direct Messages' and a list of everyone will appear on the screen.



F.A.Q.

Q: Do IRC commands like /me work on Slack?
A: Yes they do.

Q: How do I get the attention of one person when in the channel?
A: You can type "@name", replacing 'name' with the person's name. That will let that person know that they have been referenced in that channel. (For example, using @gurlanin would send me a notification.)

Thank you so much Gurlanin!


Edit: topic now stickied