> It seems like most of the article complaints are cultural, more than they are about the platform itself

I've heard this argument before. If you read again they say:

"slack empowers your worst people to overwhelm your best"

This isn't a culture thing it's a property of the entire industry. No company can stop employees doing this, not even in office. Slack on the other hand is a tool that actually promotes these interruptions.

It's like a table saw without the guard. Just because I haven't cut my fingers off doesn't make it safe, it just makes me lucky.