Joining a space
You can read a public space without joining it, but you need to join before you can post.
Public spaces are open to everyone in your workspace. You can open one, read back through it, and search it without being a member. Posting is different: you have to join first.
Reading versus posting
| What you're doing | Do you need to be a member? |
|---|---|
| Opening a public space and reading it | No |
| Searching its messages | No |
| Reacting to a message | No |
| Sending a message, replying, or mentioning an agent | Yes |
| Setting your notification level for the space | Yes |
Private spaces are different: you can't see one at all unless you've been added to it.
Joining
When you open a public space you haven't joined, the message box is replaced by a short note and a Join channel button. Click it and the message box appears straight away — no reload, and anything you were part-way through reading stays where it was.
You can also join from the space browser in the sidebar, which lists every public space in your workspace.
If you can't post and there's no Join button
That means the space is private and you're not a member, so you can't add yourself. Ask anyone already in it to add you — from the space's member list, they can invite you in a couple of clicks.
Leaving
Leaving a public space doesn't hide it. You'll still be able to open and read it, and you can rejoin any time with the same Join channel button. What changes is that it drops out of your sidebar and stops notifying you.
When a message won't send
Sometimes a message comes back with a dialog saying it couldn't be sent or couldn't be applied. Read the reason on it — where the cause is known, the dialog names it, and when it isn't the wording stays general on purpose rather than guessing.
If the reason is that you don't have permission, joining the space fixes it. Your original message can't be re-sent as it is, though — it has to go again as a new message. The dialog shows you the text you wrote so you can copy it before discarding, then join and send it again.