Mar 14 2022 06:51 AM
Hi all,
I am wondering if there is a way to make a channel in a team that behaves the same as a group chat.
I understand the advantages and disadvantages of conversations vs chats. Basically I like having conversation for work related things, the threads are good for organizations etc. At the same time I would prefer having a channel for general chit chat that behaves like a group chat (with the reply behavior of a chat and the general flow of a chat.)
Yes I could just make a group chat that has the same members as my team but it is less comfortable to continuously go between the Teams tab and the Chats tab, and also inviting members to both the Group and the Chat can be annoying when there are many of them.
Is there a way to do this that I missed?
Mar 14 2022 10:10 AM
Mar 14 2022 10:21 AM
@Vasil Michev Thanks for your reply! Unfortunately I didn't find anything in the add-ins...
May 19 2022 03:20 AM
Feb 22 2023 07:15 AM - edited Feb 22 2023 07:27 AM
This seems like such an obvious feature I hope it gets added at some point. No one in my org uses the discussions interface because it is clumsy and unfriendly. We presently use the chat of our recurring standup meeting for our social "water cooler" interactions, but it's not ideal and would be nice if Teams supported this natively in channels.
It also occurs to me that much of the clumsiness could be avoided if they just got rid of the "New Discussion" button and defaulted to showing a text field with a post button. Then it would actually behave very similar to group chat and people wouldn't be afraid to start new topics. Unfortunately that still doesn't fix the fact that replies would be chronologically out of order.
Feb 23 2023 09:06 AM
@ohanoch This is a must. I hope they work on this feature soon. I joined a project where they started using group chat as a method of communication and I am desperately looking for the day I get the feature to convert this to a teams channel.
Jul 25 2023 02:33 AM
Aug 16 2023 05:18 AM
@winicjusz I think that feature would be great, I was just looking for it, however I hope they make it an option and not a full blown requirement. The discussion style interface with threading is great for teamwide communication with announcements, and other stuff. I've used it for submissions to ensure everyone has synced their work before we package things up, or important announcements. Much better than generic chat. I recently switched firms and we use google chat and I absoolutely hate it because the "spaces" in google chat are essentially just what a group chat was in teams and there are no true "teams". We are looking into teams now, but I imagine some would prefer a chat like interface for the teams.
Aug 21 2023 07:49 AM
Oct 16 2023 09:40 AM - edited Oct 16 2023 09:42 AM
I am just now realizing this is not an available function in Teams Channels, which begs the question "how is this not an available function in Teams Channels?" I have recently been told I need to migrate my team chat from a 3rd party app to Teams (bc that's our company standard). If you are working in an office setting using even a small monitor this may not seem like a big deal. If, however, you are managing a field-based operations where remote stand-alone members are trying to use Teams to stay abreast of fast paced operations and need a "stream of activity" chat-type functionality via phone then the "Posts" feature in a Channel just isn't going to cut it. This seems like a no-brainer winner of a solution, so what am I missing here?
Oct 18 2023 07:01 AM
Oct 18 2023 07:45 AM
Oct 18 2023 07:50 AM
@Marisa_Thompson I would add your support and explain how this would add value to this thread on the suggestion site, so the developers will consider this for development.
Create "Chat Channels" in Teams · Community (microsoft.com)
Until then I would mention that with the new Teams you can open a single conversation within a channel then have a more chat-like experience.
Oct 18 2023 09:16 AM
@Marisa_Thompson I believe what you describe would work for what I'm trying to do so long as the looks and feel is closer to group Chat and not the Posts inside of a Channel.
@Steven Collier You are correct. I could just do a simple Chat with 75-80 participants. The drawback to this on my end is that our Chat conversation archive is limited to 30 days, while anything in a Channel I create preserves a year's worth of activity. While I could probably get by with only 90-180 days of Chat archive, I definitely need more than a month. On my end, as I understand it, the Chat archive settings cannot be altered just for my singular needs. My only real issue with using the Posts inside the Channel setup is the sheer amount of real estate is takes up on the phone screen, even using the larger sizes available. Inside the Team Channel, I'm also able to more easily manage who is in there as folks transfer in/out of the operation. Hope this description helps.
Oct 18 2023 09:39 AM
@Steven Collier My organization uses individual 1-off chats as well as group chats that represent teams and are ongoing conversations, meetings, etc. It seems very disconnected. For example, we have the "Support Team" channel where all of our Support Help material (documents) live and other information vital to the team yet we run our daily support operations/communications out of the "Support Team" group chat. The conversation piece in the channel is impossible to stay on top of unless you @ everyone on everything you type, the switching between the Teams & chat tabs/windows, and the general disconnect. For example, someone posted a quick guide in the chat for an issue that was occurring. That info should be auto-included in the team's channel but it's not unless done manually.
I think that the communication piece should be removed from the channels entirely. Instead, each channel should auto-create a group chat that includes all the channel members. Any files, tabs, etc should be auto-added on the channel side when created in the group chat. Channels would remain the hub for team management, organization, and information while chat is for communication within specific channels or 1-off threads of communication outside of any specific team/channel.
Oct 20 2023 01:23 PM
Dec 07 2023 05:12 AM
Feb 14 2024 10:10 PM