Administrative Services: Slack Administration Policy

Slack administrators can take actions like removing users from channels, inviting guests to public channels, managing account access, and controlling messages within the workspace.

Slack workplace owners can perform the same functions as administrators, but they have additional authorizations, including the ability to reset all members' passwords and create and edit user groups.

Administrators (*Primary Responsibility)

Adding New Members

The HR Assistant will grant access to our workspace to new permanent and term employees as part of the onboarding process. Temporary staff and contractors can be added upon request by emailing lib-hr@mit.edu. 

Create a JSM ticket for all other instances of adding a new member.

See our information on guests for our guest invitation policy.

Removing Members

The HR Assistant will remove a departing permanent or term employee as part of the offboarding process. Temporary staff or contractors can be removed  upon request by emailing lib-hr@mit.edu. 

Create a JSM ticket for all other instances of removing a member.

Removing an employee from the Libraries Slack workspace will remove access to both public and private workspace channels; it won’t remove the user from the MIT Slack enterprise grid. Members removed from the workspace will still be able to send and receive direct messages as long as they are on the MIT Slack enterprise grid (as long as a user’s Athena account/Kerberos account is active, per IS&T policy.)

See our information on guests for our guest removal policy.

Guest Accounts and Slack Connect

Workspace guests may be granted access to a single channel or to multiple channels. Workspace guests are limited to accessing only the channels they have been granted explicit permission to. They may only message users they share channels with.

Guests who are accessing the MIT Libraries workspace using a Kerberos account should be invited as full members of the workspace due to MIT Enterprise Grid role restrictions. If an existing MIT user needs to be added as a single- or multi-channel guest, they should use a non-Kerb email for their invitation to those channels.

The user who requests guest access is also responsible for requesting the guest’s removal from the Libraries workspace when the purpose for the guest’s access is complete. The user can request the guest’s addition or removal by sending an email to lib-hr@mit.edu, or users can request a pre-scheduled access end date when requesting the creation of a guest account.

If a member of staff or a team will be working extensively with an outside vendor with their own instance of Slack, they may want to look into using Slack Connect to share channels between both organizations’ Slack workspaces.

Annual Cleanup

At the adoption of this policy and every subsequent January, a list of current Libraries Slack workspace members and guests should be generated by the ADLIB Libraries Slack workspace administrators to be reviewed against a list of current staff and a list of current temporary employees (provided by Libraries’ HR).

After the Libraries Slack workspace accounts for current staff and temporary employees are identified, a list of all other Libraries Slack workspace members and guests of unknown statuses with no scheduled access end date should be shared with Libraries’ people supervisors (via the pplsupervisors-lib@mit.edu Moira). People supervisors should confirm whether the people on this list of names need to access any Libraries Slack workspace channels and should remain as guests or members of the Libraries Slack workspace.

Channel Message Retention

The Libraries Slack workspace automatically deletes files after 90 days, and messages on public and private channels after 90 days.

New Channel Requests

New channel requests must come through a JSM ticket. 

The Libraries Slack workspace naming conventions should be followed when creating new channels:

• Underscores should be used to separate words

• New channel names should begin with a prefix that helps describe the purpose of the channel:

  • proj_etd (projects, both on-going and with a set timeline)

  • fun_pets (social/fun, not directly work-related)

  • team_dls (department, directorate, working group, location, other teams)

  • disc_edisj (discussion channels around specific topics that are work related)

  • help_ask_a_question (help/questions, internal and external Libraries services)

Private channels should be created for sharing more sensitive information, such as collaborating on active searches. No personally identifiable information or confidential information should be shared over Slack, including patron information. (See the MIT Libraries’ Patron Data Privacy Policy Landing Page and IS&T’s Legally Protected Data Slack Enterpise Grid page for more information.)

Channels should have a distinct purpose, to avoid overlapping conversations on separate channels. Public channels should have a topic included in their request. Private channels are for work-related purposes. Channels for social or fun purposes must be public and inclusive.

Requests for new channels, public or private, should be made through a JSM ticket. 

Delete Channel Requests

Channels that are no longer being used should be deleted. Channels with zero activity for one year will be deleted. 

Staff are encouraged to regularly review their private channels and submit JSM tickets to delete those that are obsolete.

Channels can be deleted by submitting a JSM ticket.

Requests for new Slack integrations or apps should be made to our workspace owners via a JSM ticket. Only workspace owners are currently able to approve new integrations and apps.

The MIT Libraries Slack workspace administrators and owners are not able to access users’ direct messages. The workspace administrators and owners are also unable to access messages or settings in private channels unless they are added to those channels by existing channel members.

No personally identifiable information or confidential information should be shared over Slack, including patron information. (See the MIT Libraries’ Patron Data Privacy Policy Landing Page and IS&T’s Legally Protected Data Slack Enterprise Grid page for more information.)

See MIT’s policies on privacy for more information on central MIT policies:

• MIT Policy 11.0 Privacy and Disclosure of Personal Information

• MIT Policy 13.2.4 Privacy of Electronic Communications, Electronic Files, and Other Files

Relevant documents, websites, forms, etc. can be found below.

• SlackAdministration_OldProcedures

• General considerations from the 2017 Communication and Collaboration Project

• MIT Slack Enterprise Grid Landing Page

• MIT Policy on the Use of Information Technology Resources

• Leaving MIT - What happens to my MIT accounts and services?

• Understanding Slack membership roles on the MIT Enterprise Grid

• Understand guest roles in Slack

• Guests vs channels in Slack Connect

• 5 steps to managing apps securely and at scale

• Create guidelines for channel names

• Patron Data Privacy Policy Landing Page

• Legally Protected Data - MIT Slack Enterprise Grid Landing Page

• Understand Channel Managers in Slack