The work board — conversations as work

What this chapter covers Why the group screen shows cards rather than a list, what the four states mean, and when to archive, pin or mark read.

Not a list — a queue of work

Open a group and conversations appear as cards. A plain list would just be sorted newest-first, but the question people actually arrive with is one:

"What do I have to do right now?"

The card is the shape that answers it.

Four states

"Needs me" is why this screen exists — an approval is pending, a question came back, or a comment mentioned you.

The tabs

Defaulting to "open" matters. Default to "all" and finished conversations fill the screen, so finding work means filtering every time.

Source is shown

Each card carries an icon for where the request came from.

In a workspace with channels open this is decisive. You have to be able to tell an outside enquiry from a teammate's request at a glance before you can prioritise.

What you can do from the card

Archiving is not deleting. It stays in the archived tab and can be undone. Don't confuse it with deleting a conversation.

Read state is yours alone — marking something read does not change anyone else's screen.

My work uses the same screen

The sidebar's private section shows only the most recent few. Everything beyond that lives in the private list, in the same card shape.

Common misunderstandings

"Where is the button to mark it done?"

State is not a field you set. It is derived from what actually happened — an agent running means running, a finished answer means done, a pending approval means needs-me. What you want for tidying up is archive.

"If I archive it, does it vanish for my team?"

Archiving applies to the whole workspace. Read state is personal; archiving is shared. Don't archive something others still need to see.

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Check yourself

1. Why is the group screen made of cards?

Answer

Because the question people arrive with is "what do I have to do right now?", and a newest-first list does not answer it.

2. When does "needs me" appear?

Answer

When the conversation is waiting on you — a pending approval, a question that came back, or a comment that mentioned you.

3. How do archiving and read state differ?

Answer

Archiving is shared across the workspace; read state is personal. Marking read changes only your screen, archiving moves it for everyone.

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Run the board for yourself for a day. Twenty minutes → Run the work board for a day