Feature: Add support for a control channel

[fancypantalons]

Right now we have the equivalent of kind of control channel through the '@ slack' mechanism, but I often find I'm afraid of accidentally introducing a typo in my command that could lead to the command going into the channel.

I'd like to propose a second mechanism that compliments the first in the form of a control channel, named something like '*slack' or '&slack'. This control channel could serve a couple of functions:

1. Support existing @ slack commands where applicable.
2. Include the full user list in the channel membership, thereby serving as a global contact list.
3. In the future, provide a place for viewing and setting preferences dynamically rather than just upon connection.
4. In the future, provide a nature place for other types of commands, such as searching/viewing user profile data, etc.

Obviously this can't fully replace @ slack, since, today, most of the @ slack commands are in response to events within a given channel (e.g. reacting/unreacting, replying, etc). But for "@ slack chat", "@ slack search", etc, a control channel could serve as a nice compliment while eliminating the risk of accidentally sending an @slack command to a public channel.

I'm happy to throw something together, here, as it could solve a real need for me. My first cut would likely cover (1) and (2) in the list, above... really, my biggest pain point right now is starting group chats easily. :)

Edit:

BTW, I've also been considering adding a '/slack' custom command in addition to the '@ slack' mechanism, again as a way to prevent typos causing embarrassment... but that's a topic for its own FR.

[slack]

I am not the robot you are looking for. 👯

[adsr]

I like the idea. There is already a debug channel &irslackd (enabled via pref debug-channel). To avoid having two special-case channels, it may make sense to roll these ideas into one.