Joining & finding channels
Find your way around the Channels sidebar — search by name, switch between conferences, star and mute channels, and understand how you're added to channels automatically by your role.
Purpose
This page covers getting into the right channels: how the sidebar is organized, how to find a channel, how you become a member, and the per-channel options like starring and muting.
When you use it
Use it when you're orienting in a busy workspace — pinning the few channels you live in to the top, muting noisy ones, or tracking down a channel you know exists but can't see in the list.
Walkthrough
- 1
Switch conference if needed. Use the conference picker at the top of the sidebar to move to the conference whose channels you want. It only shows a dropdown if you belong to more than one.
- 2
Browse the groups. Channels are sorted into Starred (your pinned ones), Channels (conference-wide public spaces), and Tracks (event/track channels). Unread channels show in bold with a count; a NEW tag marks channels created in the last day that you haven't opened.
- 3
Search. Type in Search channels… to filter the list by name as you type.
- 4
Open and join. Click a public channel to open it — you're added as a member the first time you engage with it. Private channels appear only if you've been invited or added.
- 5
Manage a channel. Right-click a channel in the sidebar for its options: Star / Unstar, Mute notifications, Mark as read, Copy link, Open in new tab, and Leave channel.
How you become a member
Channels can be set to auto-add everyone with a given conference role — so a PC-discussion channel can include every PC member without anyone inviting them one by one. When you're given a role on a conference, you'll find its role-based channels already waiting for you. You can always Leave a public channel you don't need; private channels require an invite to join.
Tips
Star the handful of channels you check constantly so they sit at the top under Starred, and mute channels you want to stay in but not be pinged by — you keep access without the noise.
The sidebar search matches channel names. To find a particular message, open the channel and scroll its timeline — channel-wide message search isn't part of this view.