Chat workspaces sprawl by entropy: a channel per whim, three channels where one topic lives, dead projects' channels haunting the sidebar, and every question answered with "wasn't that discussed somewhere?" Hygiene is structural: one purpose per channel (stated in the topic line), a naming scheme that sorts and signals (#proj-, #team-, #help-), an archive pass for the dead (archiving is free and reversible — the fear is misplaced), and posting norms that keep conversations findable — threads for discussions, @-mentions priced honestly, urgency signaled by convention instead of ALL CAPS hope.
What This Skill Produces
- The channel audit — every channel: purpose (stated or guessed), last-activity, overlap verdicts
- The map and naming scheme — the prefix taxonomy, the one-purpose rule, topic lines written
- The norms card — threads, @-discipline, urgency signals, and where-to-post routing — one screen, pinned
- The archive pass — the dead and duplicated archived, with the it's-reversible announcement
Required Inputs
Ask for these if not provided:
- The channel census — the list with member counts and last-activity (export or eyeball); the audit works on inventory, not impressions
- The recurring confusions — where do announcements go? Why are there three design channels? The map answers the actual questions
- The platform's mechanics — archiving behavior, thread culture, the tools available (channel descriptions, pinned posts) — norms use what exists
- The team's @-pain — is @-channel abused? Are DMs swallowing team knowledge? The norms card weights by symptom
Framework: The Hygiene Rules
- One purpose, stated in the topic: every surviving channel's topic line completes "post here for ___" — channels that need "and" in that sentence are two channels; channels where nobody can complete it are archive candidates. The topic line is the routing card at the point of confusion.
- Prefixes are navigation:
#team-(a group's home),#proj-(temporary, archived at ship — the expiry is the point),#help-(questions, threaded),#ann-(announcements, restricted posting, no discussion) — the sidebar becomes a sorted map, and new-channel creation inherits the scheme's discipline. - Archive without fear, loudly: channels dead >90 days get archived with the announcement stating the two facts that kill the objections: archives are searchable and un-archiving takes one click. Duplicated topics merge into the survivor with a pointer post. The sidebar halving is the visible win that funds the norms' adoption.
- Threads keep channels skimmable: discussions thread; the channel surface stays scannable headlines. The norm is stated positively ("thread replies so the channel stays skimmable") and modeled by the leads — thread culture is caught, not decreed.
- @-signals are priced, urgency is explicit: @-channel = "everyone must see this today" (rare by definition) · @-person = "you specifically, action expected" · no-@ = ambient. Urgent-and-blocking gets its stated convention (the 🔴 prefix, the
#help-urgentlane — whatever's chosen, it's written), because unpriced attention signals inflate until everyone mutes everything — and DMs about team topics get the gentle norm: ask in the channel, so the answer compounds (faq-builder feeds on this).
Output Format
Channel Hygiene: [workspace] — [N] channels → [M]The Audit
| Channel | Purpose (topic-line test) | Last active | Verdict |
|---|
The Map + Scheme
[Prefix taxonomy · surviving channels with written topic lines · the new-channel rule]
The Norms Card (pin this)
[Threads · @-pricing · the urgency convention · where-to-post routing · the ask-in-channel-not-DM nudge]
The Archive Pass
[The list · the merge pointers · the announcement with the two fear-killers]
Quality Checks
- Every surviving channel passes the topic-line test
- The prefix scheme covers team/project/help/announce with project expiry noted
- The archive announcement states searchable + reversible
- The norms card fits one screen and is pinned where confusion happens
- @-signals and the urgency convention are written, not folklore
Anti-Patterns
- Do not audit by memory — the census with last-activity dates is the ground truth
- Do not delete when archiving exists — reversibility is what makes the pass politically free
- Do not create channels per mood — the naming scheme is the door, and the door has a test
- Do not let announcements and discussion share a channel — the restricted
#ann-lane exists so the signal survives - Do not decree thread culture — leads model it for two weeks and it installs itself