Team Channels
Channels are the backbone of team communication in UltiStackr. Think of them as dedicated lanes on the field — each one serves a specific purpose and keeps conversations organized so nothing important gets lost in the stack.
Default Channels
When you create a team, UltiStackr automatically sets up two channels to get you started:
General Channel
The General channel is your team’s open floor. Every team member can read and post messages here. It’s the perfect place for:
- Day-to-day team conversation
- Sharing highlights, photos, and post-game banter
- Casual coordination and quick questions
- Building team culture between practices
All team members — owners, coaches, managers, and players — have full read and write access to the General channel.
Announcements Channel
The Announcements channel is reserved for official team communications. Only coaches, managers, and the team owner can post here, while all team members can read.
This is where you’ll find:
- Practice schedule changes
- Tournament logistics and travel details
- Roster updates and role assignments
- Important deadlines and team-wide notices
All team members can read the Announcements channel, but only coaches, managers, and the team owner can create posts. This ensures critical information doesn’t get buried under a thread about who’s bringing the post-game snacks.
Channel Permissions
Each channel type has a specific permission model that determines who can post:
| Channel Type | Who Can Read | Who Can Post |
|---|---|---|
| General | All team members | All team members |
| Announcements | All team members | Coaches, Managers, Owner only |
Channel permissions follow the team’s role hierarchy. If you need to adjust who has coaching or manager privileges, head to Roles & Permissions.
Group DMs
Sometimes you need to have a conversation with a few specific teammates rather than the whole squad. That’s where Group DMs come in.
Creating a Group DM
- Navigate to the Communication tab on your team page.
- Tap the New Message button.
- Select two or more teammates from the member list.
- Start typing — your group conversation is created instantly.
Group DMs work just like channels: you get real-time messaging, read receipts, reactions, and polls. The only difference is that they’re private to the participants you selected.
When to Use Group DMs
- Coordinating with your handler line before a tournament
- Coaching staff discussions about lineup decisions
- Planning a surprise for a teammate’s birthday
- Any conversation that doesn’t need to involve the whole team
Archiving Channels
Over time, you might accumulate channels or group DMs that are no longer active — like a channel from a tournament that ended weeks ago. Rather than deleting them and losing the conversation history, you can archive them.
How to Archive
- Open the channel or group DM you want to archive.
- Tap the channel settings icon (gear icon in the channel header).
- Select Archive Channel.
- Confirm the action.
What Happens When You Archive
- The channel moves to the Archived section in your channel list.
- All message history is preserved and remains searchable.
- No new messages can be sent in an archived channel.
- Archived channels can be unarchived at any time by a coach, manager, or the team owner.
Archiving is a great way to keep your channel list clean without losing any conversation history. Think of it like filing away your game film — you might not watch it every day, but it’s there when you need it.
Tips for Organizing Your Team’s Communication
- Keep General light and social — It’s the team hangout space. Save formal updates for Announcements.
- Use Group DMs for line-specific talk — Your O-line handlers don’t need to see every D-line strategy discussion.
- Archive when a conversation runs its course — Finished planning that road trip to Nationals? Archive the DM and clear the clutter.
- Check Announcements regularly — Coaches put important info there for a reason. Don’t be the person who shows up to practice at the wrong field.
Next up: Messaging — learn about real-time messaging, editing, and read receipts.