For such a tiny bubble, it sure causes a major headache.
As more and more people find themselves stuck working from home for the foreseeable future, an ever-growing number of Slack users are now faced with the same problem: How to appear as "active" when they're actually... not.
For the unaware, Slack is a messaging tool that many workplaces (and friend groups) use to communicate remotely. Within the service, next to your online handle, rests a little telltale bubble. Depending on whether or not you're currently using the service, Slack will either display a green bubble for active or an empty bubble for away.
As you might imagine, this is a helpful tool for bosses trying to keep tabs on their employees; it's also the enemy of workers who are just trying to live their lives and stop thinking about the coronavirus for even a goddamn second.
I see you, green bubble.
Image: screenshot / slack
Which brings us to the issue at hand: Keeping those bubbles green. Slack says it "automatically determines your availability based on how consistently you're interacting with the app on your device."
"Note," cautions Slack in bold type, "There is no way to set yourself as permanently active."