Items in a forum post addressed to individuals or (for example) SlickTeam

[LBCEi]

I've noticed in several posts on the SE community forums that, within a response to a specific topic, there are sections of the post that appear to be directed specifically to a certain user or user group (e.g., SlickTeam).  These are shown in bold with an @ sign (e.g., @SlickTeam).  Does this really send a notice to the specific user/group or is it simply a convention that some of the more advanced users have adopted to "flag" comments in a general post to call attention to the post for that user/group?

The generic SMF board help that you get to by clicking help at the top of the Community Forums pages mentions nothing that explains this.

Thanks in advance for educating me on this subject.

[hs2]

Unfortunately there is no action linked to that notation (though it's a good idea !).
Your 2nd assumption is right.

HS2

[LBCEi]

Thank you for the response -- now I can stop trying to figure out how to add these "special" annotations and just use the bold button.