In our experience, Slack has become an indispensable tool for team communication, helping us keep track of multiple conversations in a bustling digital workspace. However, frequent notifications, especially channel join and leave messages, can become a distraction. When a large team is involved, or when there are frequent changes in channel memberships, these messages disrupt our workflow. We’ve found that by simply disabling these notifications, we can maintain focus and reduce clutter in our Slack channels.

Disabling these messages is straightforward. Slack provides a setting to manage join and leave messages, giving us control over what we see and what we consider as noise. This small tweak in the settings ensures that our channels stay clean, allowing us to concentrate on what’s important—actual communication and work collaboration. By customizing our workspace settings, we optimize Slack to suit our team’s specific needs. Here’s how it’s generally done:
- Navigate to Workspace Settings.
- Locate the Join & Leave Messages setting.
- Adjust the preferences to stop displaying these messages.
- Ensure to save changes for the settings to take effect.
We recommend reviewing and adjusting these settings to maintain a productive digital environment that aligns with our workflow requirements. By keeping these channels quieter, we notice better concentration and less distraction across our team.
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Understanding Slack Channel Notifications

In our team’s collaborative environment, managing channel notifications in Slack is essential to maintain focus and control over our digital workspace.
The Role of Notifications in Slack
Notifications serve as a signal to draw our attention to important updates within channels and direct messages. Effectively configuring these alerts ensures that we stay informed about valuable discussions without being overwhelmed by unnecessary noise. Specifically, notifications are triggered by various events such as when users join or leave a channel.
| Event | Default Notification Behavior | User Control Options |
| Joining a Channel | A welcome message is typically posted. | Users can disable this in Workspace Settings. |
| Leaving a Channel | A leaving message is automatically sent. | Like join messages, these can also be turned off. |
Joining and leaving notifications inform us when team members are added or removed from conversations. While these messages can be helpful to track team changes, they may be distracting in large, active channels.
In conclusion, notifications in Slack are a pivotal component of the platform, and understanding how they work empowers users to tailor their experience. By taking control of join and leave messages, we can balance our need to be updated with our desire for an uncluttered workspace.
Customizing Channel Settings
In managing Slack workspaces, an admin’s ability to configure settings plays a crucial role in optimizing the user experience. Here, we focus specifically on personalizing channel settings, including the configuration to disable join and leave messages, to maintain a clutter-free environment.
Accessing Channel Settings
For enterprise grid users, it’s important to note that these settings might affect multiple workspaces, so be mindful of the changes applied.
Disabling Join/Leave Messages
The influx of join and leave messages in a channel can become disruptively noisy, especially in active workspaces with a high volume of members moving in and out. If our goal is to disable these notifications:
| Action | Location | Effect |
| Uncheck box | Workspace settings > Join & Leave Messages | Suppresses notifications |
| Click Save | Bottom of the section | Applies changes |
This applies to both public and private channels. By unchecking the relevant box and saving the changes, we ensure that members continue to quietly enter and exit without generating a message. It’s a simple yet effective means of streamlining communication.
Managing User Permissions and Access
In maintaining a streamlined communication environment within Slack, it’s crucial to understand how to manage user permissions and access. Setting the correct permissions ensures that members have appropriate access, and it’s an essential role of workspace admins to configure these settings effectively.
Setting Permissions for Users
Slack allows us to define permissions for different roles, including members, guests, and admins. As workspace admins, we are empowered to manage these permissions via the settings & administration section. We access the permissions page to adjust what each role can do within the workspace.
For instance, in configuring message permissions, we determine if members can edit or delete messages and for how long. This is done by:
Controlling Access to Channels
When it comes to channels, we aim to strike a balance between collaboration and privacy. As admins, we decide who can create, manage, and access channels. We may restrict the creation of channels to maintain organization within the workspace.
Managing join and leave messages is a part of controlling access. Unnecessary notifications can be disabled by:
| Steps to Disable Notifications | |
| Go to your workspace name > Settings & administration > Workspace settings | Adjust the “Show a message when people join or leave channels” setting |
Controlling these aspects is not just about security, but also about preserving the focus and efficiency of our teams in communication-heavy environments.
Best Practices for Channel Moderation
| Pros of Disabling Join & Leave Messages | Cons of Disabling Join & Leave Messages |
| Reduces noise, especially in large channels | May hinder visibility on team changes |
| Focuses discussions on more relevant topics | Some members might feel less welcomed without notices |
| Frees up space for important announcements | Limits awareness on who has access to sensitive information |
Disabling join and leave messages can be done quite easily through our workspace settings. However, we must consider HR and other stakeholders before making such changes. It’s crucial that the decision aligns with our desired workspace culture. When dealing with an Enterprise Grid plan, each workspace within it might have specific needs, so adjustments should be considered on an individual basis.
We also recommend revisiting this feature periodically, as the needs and size of our company might change, which in turn, may affect our moderation strategy. Muting these notifications is not a one-size-fits-all solution, but it can contribute to a cleaner, more focused communication environment. Remember, we’re striving for balance to maintain an inclusive and informed workspace.