Slack · Available
Thanks, where the team already says it.
Type @name ++ in the channel you are already in. It is recorded to that person, capped so it cannot be farmed, and shown on their profile, and it is never turned into a ranking.
- Status
- Available
- Authenticated with
- A per-workspace OAuth install, with every request verified using Slack’s own signing scheme. No admin scopes.
- Becomes
- karma · karma (a thing) · a message to the channel
What it sends
What arrives, and what it becomes on a board
| When | Becomes | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| @person ++ | karma | One point to that person, from you. Several people in one message each get their own. |
| @person -- | karma | One point taken. Capped harder than giving, so it cannot be used to bury someone. |
| coffee++ | karma (a thing) | Credits a thing rather than a person. Shown on the feed; attached to nobody’s total. |
| Something good happens | a message to the channel | A card earned, a competition won. Outbound, off by default, and only once the thing has actually happened. |
Karma is scored but never ranked. It shows as a running total on a feed and a profile, and a test asserts that no shipped board can score it: ranking gratitude turns it into a currency people farm.
Setting it up
Three steps, and none of them is a ticket to us.
- 01
Add to Slack
From the Integrations page inside the product. One workspace per organization; the install asks only for what karma and notifications need.
- 02
Invite it to a channel
It hears karma only in channels it has been added to, so a team decides where thanks gets counted.
- 03
Turn on notifications, if you want them
Off until you switch them on, per organization. When on, a card or a result is announced in the channel you choose.
What it will not do
The refusals, in writing.
- Rank karma. It is feed-only by design and by test.
- Let anyone farm it. Each person can gain at most 20 in a day and lose at most 2, and nobody can give karma to themselves.
- Count bots or edits. A bot echoing a message, or someone editing one, gives nothing.
- Read channels it is not in, or your direct messages.
Questions
The ones that come up
Why can’t I put karma on a leaderboard?
Because the moment it is ranked, people optimise for it, and the farming is louder than the thanks. It is deliberately the one thing here that is visible but not competitive.
Does it work for people outside engineering?
It is the part that works for everyone. Karma needs no source system at all: a sales team or a finance team can use it on day one with nothing else connected.
What does it post, and when?
Only what you turn on: a card earned or a competition result, in the channel you choose, and only once it has actually happened. Nothing is announced that could later be undone.
Which Slack scopes does it ask for?
Commands, reading users so a mention resolves to a person, and posting messages. No admin scopes and no reading of channels it has not been invited to.