> It's the Slack server generating a realtime stream of things you probably should be involved in.

I think Slack should copy an idea from email - show a simple timeline of messages related to the user in a single place. Sometimes I see a message came in and can't tell who sent it if I already have multiple unanswered messages waiting.

I think Slack's lack of emphasis on feed-style interfaces is because the company thinks it's a communication tool, but its core value source is as an unstructured store and feed of business communication data. Being a highly used communication tool is table stakes for getting the latter.

Email never evolved because legacy.

IRC never cared about enterprise.

Everything Microsoft ever put out (Lync, SharePoint, Lync-Skype, Teams) has been corrupted by their spineless kowtowing to HR's assinine audit and control requirements, above usability.

Slack's progression should be the same as Facebook's: (1) build a tool people like and use (success!), (2) store everything, (3) continuously reverse engineer structure (organizational, expertise, and process) from everything, & (4) build and sell products that require (2) & (3) (and therefore that they have no competition for).

Unfortunately, it remains to be seen if they really understand the difference in value between (2) and (3).

I appreciate both feed-style interfaces and seeing the people-list with unread message counts. Slack could be improved with time-based feeds and email would benefit from adding people centred view. One advantage of Slack is that it provides a model of the team and topics (channels), while mail is mostly unstructured.