The Ithura Blog
Deep dive7 min read

From Slack, email, or a form to one inbox

A deep dive into Asks: capture a request from anyone with no account, triage it as a normal issue, and let the submitter follow along on a no-login status page.

Most of the work a team does starts as a request from someone else: a customer hits a bug, a colleague in another department needs a change, a partner asks a question. Too often those requests arrive scattered across inboxes and chat threads, and the person who sent one has no idea what happened next.

Asks fixes that. Anyone can file a request into an Ithura project from Slack, email, or a public web form, with no Ithura account. Every request becomes a normal issue your team triages in one place, and updates flow back to the person who sent it. Here is the whole path, from capture to a no-login status page.

The shape of it

  1. Someone files a request, from wherever they already are

    They react to a Slack message with your ticket emoji, write to your intake email address, or fill in a web form you can share anywhere. No account, no password, no seat.

  2. It lands in one triage inbox as a normal issue

    Whatever the channel, the request becomes a standard Ithura issue in a single inbox. Same status, same fields, same assignment, ready to triage alongside the rest of your work.

  3. Your team replies, and internal notes stay private

    Reply to the submitter straight from the issue. Keep your triage discussion in internal comments that the submitter never sees.

  4. The submitter follows along, no login required

    They watch progress on a private status page showing what they sent and only the updates your team chooses to share.

1. Capture a request from anywhere

A request should be easy to file from the place the person already is. Asks meets them there, across three channels, and every one produces the same kind of issue in the same inbox.

  • Slack: react to any message with your ticket emoji, or mention the bot. The request links straight back to the original thread.
  • Email: forward or write to your intake address. Attachments arrive with their real filenames.
  • Web form: share a public form on your site, in a help center, or in a signature. No sign-up wall in front of it.
LiveMany channels, one inbox

Switch channels with the tabs (or the arrow keys). Notice the resulting issue on the right stays the same, wherever the request came from.

Slack

Jordan Diaz 9:14 AM

Export to CSV times out on our big project. Spins for a minute then fails. Smaller ones are fine.

1reacting files it into Ithura
Triage inboxNew
PAR-482Todo

Export to CSV times out on large projects

Downloading the full issue export spins for a minute and then fails. Smaller projects export fine.

From: jordan@northwind.example1 attachment

2. It lands in one triage inbox

Every request, from every channel, becomes a normal issue in a single triage inbox. It carries the submitter's email, any attachments, and a link back to its origin (a Slack request opens the original thread). You triage it exactly like any other issue: set a status, assign an owner, add it to a cycle.

The triage inbox. Each row is a request, tagged with its channel and priority, ready to triage like any issue.
The triage inbox. Each row is a request, tagged with its channel and priority, ready to triage like any issue.

3. Reply in the open, keep notes private

Answering the submitter and talking to your team are two different conversations, and Asks keeps them apart. Replies you send reach the submitter. Internal comments never do.

The accepted request, now an issue. The first reply reached the submitter; the internal note below it stays with the team.
The accepted request, now an issue. The first reply reached the submitter; the internal note below it stays with the team.

4. The submitter follows a no-login status page

The person who filed the request gets a private link to a status page. No account, no password. It shows two things: what they sent, and the updates your team has chosen to share. Shared updates also reach them by email and, for a Slack request, back in the original thread.

LiveNo-login status page

What the submitter sees at their private link. Two panels: what they sent, and the updates the team has shared.

Your requestIn progressNo login needed

What you sent

Export to CSV times out on large projects

Downloading the full issue export spins for a minute and then fails. Smaller projects export fine.

export-error.png

Updates

  1. Today, 11:02 · Nora, Support

    We reproduced the timeout and opened a fix. We will let you know the moment it ships.

  2. Today, 09:20 · Ithura

    Your request was received and is now being triaged. You will get an email when there is news.

Only shared updates appear here. Internal notes stay with the team.
The same shared update also arrives by email, so the submitter does not have to keep checking.

Why it works

Requests stop leaking. Everything coming in from outside lands in one place, as issues you already know how to work. The people who sent them stay informed without ever needing a seat, and your internal discussion stays internal. One inbox for the team, one clear status page for everyone else.