Slack has two ways to name their user accounts, the full name and the display name. The full name is obviously intended to be your real full name. It’s useful if someone wants to find you. The display name is more open for interpretation. Some people may just see that as an instruction to put their first name, while others may put a nickname or a more casual alias that they use online.
In some workspaces, this flexibility may be acceptable or even encouraged, especially in workspaces that are intended entirely for interest groups or etc. However, corporate workspaces are more likely to stick to prefer a stricter naming scheme using either first names or a nickname for your display name.
These expectations of what users should call themselves should generally be clearly stated if you want people to follow them. Slack includes a workspace setting where you can adjust the default guidance on what users should put as their display names.
Show Display Name Guidelines on Slack
To configure the display name guidance for your workspace, you need to browse to the workspace settings and permissions page. First, click on the workspace name in the top-right corner. Next, in the dropdown menu, select “Settings & administration.” Then “Workspace settings” to open the workspace settings in a new tab.
In the default “Settings” tab, click on the “Expand” button for the “Display name guidelines” settings.
To enter your own custom naming guidelines, click on the “Custom guidelines” radio button. Enter your new guidelines in the text box. Once you’re done, click “Save” to apply them.
Display names can have different standards in different workspaces; by configuring custom display name guidelines, you can encourage people to match your standards. By following the steps in this guide, you can define your own list of display name guidelines for your workspace.
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