DIBS ON STUFF

THE SLACK APP FOR TAKING TURNS


Add to Slack
Dibs On Stuff was used in Slack
over 29,000 times in 2022


When you want to claim a thing, put this in Slack:
/dibs on THING (e.g. /dibs on staging-server)

If no one else is using the THING, it's yours. Otherwise you join the queue for THING and will get a Slack notification once it's your turn.

Once you've had your turn enter /dibs off THING to release the THING to the next person.
What else can I do with dibs?
Well, way too much. Follow🐦 along if you like.

If your Slack organization activates the extra features you can use timers in your queues to automatically release the item. Or approve specific queue names to avoid typos, and use abbreviations and even set up all sorts of other special queues.
The Extra Features
Your entire organization can get access for $9 per month. This suite of extra features is listed below:


Feature Basic   Extra
Unlimited team members as users  
Unlimited /dibs on and /dibs off requests  
Multiple queues allowed per Slack channel  
Display summary of all queues  
Retrieve the list of people in the queue  
Force dibs to pass to the next person in line  
Unlimited queues allowed simultaneously  
Automatic /dibs off after a specified time  
Join and leave queues using buttons (less typing!)  
Allow only approved queue names  
Add a reason that you're calling dibs on something  
Use abbreviations when typing queue names  
Randomly ordered queues for delightful surprises  
Enforce the use of timers on particular queues  
Secret queues with people's names hidden  
Automatically-requeuing roster queues  
API access to queues  
Prioritized support + new features!  


Activate the extra features
Paypal | BMAC

Extra #1: Automatic release

Automatically release the item after an amount of time that you specify.

Use the keyword "for" to indicate the time period.

/dibs on server1 for 45 minutes

(note: time unit can be: m, h, d, min, hour, day and more)
Extra #2: Add a description

Add a description to each item that you seize, to help other team members understand more.

Use the keyword "because" to indicate the reason.

/dibs on server1 because issue #4758

(note: you can use it in combination with Automatic release)
Extra #3: API access

Manipulate items inside your instance of Slack from the API. See conchable.com for more API info. Eg: 
curl https://conchable.com/seize
 -X POST
 -H 'Content-type:application/json'
 -d '{
       "conch": "SLACK_TEAM/CONCH",
       "slack_team_id": "TEAM_ID",
       "name": "SLACK_USERNAME",
       "email": "YOUR_EMAIL"
     }'
Extra #4: Approved names

Ability to define a fixed list of approved item names.

No more spelling errors, eg: "/dibs on staging" works, but "/dibs on stageing" won't.

/dibs set staging approved
/dibs on staging
/dibs on sta (abbreviation supported!)

Extra #5: Support for Repeating Rosters

A brand new extra feature: Repeating THINGS. Good for roster duty, or taking turns with after hours support, or any other turn taking event that repeats day after day.

Once a person discards the THING, they'll automatically get placed onto the end of the queue again.

Just update the relevant THING to make it repeating eg:

/dibs set water-cooler-refill repeat

It can also be mixed with the Automatic release functionality for a hands-off rotation, so that when people enter:

/dibs on water-cooler-refill for 1 day

Their job will be to fill up the water-cooler for that day, and it will automatically be their turn again, only once everyone else has had their day.
 

Extra #6: Support for Random Queues

A brand new extra feature: Random Queues! Everyone is in line, but the queue gets shuffled everytime someone new joins the line (what fun).

Can't decide who the lucky person is today? Better than drawing names from a hat, use a random queue to decide who's next!

Mix and match this setting with Repeating Queues and create an automatically repeating randomly ordered queue. For even more mischief mix and match it with Secret queues to prevent anyone peeking at the order of people in the queue.

Just update the relevant THING to make it random, repeating and secret eg:

/dibs set feed-fish random
/dibs set feed-fish repeat
/dibs set feed-fish secret

And don't forget you can always use wildcards to specify multiple queues, eg /dibs set servers/* random
 

Extra #7: Buttons!?

A brand new extra feature: One-click buttons to join and leave your queues!

Running /dibs q will present you with a list of all your conches and provide a handy button next to each, allowing you to join or leave each queue instantly.



A little bit of an extra feature (that took a hell of a lot of extra work).
 


Privacy Policy
The information that is put into this service is used only to run this service. No spam etc. Here's the long version Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
Contact me
Any questions or support queries: trouble @ conchable.com
Alex Lance
Other projects
Some other stuff I've been working on:

Conchable.com a general API for queuing systems - the engine underneath Dibs On Stuff

Autoexpire.com transfer sensitive information to your clients (for sharing passwords or other credentials, and customizing the security controls)

Streetmates.net join up the people in your street in a non-intrusive fashion (give each street on the planet a mailing list)