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'Slack' is an acronym

'Slack' is an acronym

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Ugh, Slackronym

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Slack, the workplace productivity chat tool that lets you quietly discuss the merits of strawberry / frosted vs. brown-sugar / unfrosted PopTarts with a colleague for up to six hours at a time without anyone else noticing that you're being totally useless, is an acronym. The letters S-L-A-C-K stand for things.

But what?

Here are some of our guesses:

  • Sorry Losers, America Chose Kaitlyn
  • So Long and Cool Keys
  • Start Looking at Clark KentwhydoeshelookjustlikeSupermanbutwithglasses
  • Stop Licking: All Cats / Kittens
  • Snapchat Spectacles Look Awfully Cool (Kidding)
  • Suck Lemons, Anton CheKhov
  • Sad! Look at Carl's Kia
  • Silly Labbit, Ack

Here's what Slack says it stands for:

  • Searchable Log of All Communication and Knowledge

Just saying, that acronym sounds like a lie. Hyperbole, at best! I know for a fact that Vox Media's Slack does not contain all human knowledge, because we regularly ask questions like "What is the best PopTart?" or "Why would anyone eat a non-Strawberry PopTart?" and never find out the answers to them.

It's also not a great storage bin for all of The Verge's workplace communications, because we also utilize Google Docs, our mouths, and Twitter DMs (if it's gossip). While this acronym is an egregious brag, it's a lot better than my favorite failed acronym: SUR. SUR stands for "Sexy Unique Restaurant" and it's the name of the restaurant that provides the setting for Bravo's Vanderpump Rules. The employees of SUR sometimes wear T-shirts that say "SUR Restaurant and Lounge," which technically means that they sometimes wear shirts that say "Sexy Unique Restaurant Restaurant and Lounge." I love it.

The information about the Slack-ronym comes to us via a very embarrassing tweet from Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield: