I have a simple question. Why does this site have a Discord group?
There doesn't seem to be much linkage between the forum and the discord group. Not only that, but the forum itself actually has a built-in chat feature (which is rarely used). As far as I can tell, the sole function of the discord group is to cannibalize the "stickiness" of the forum.
Let me speak from my own experience on this. I have ran and been a moderator in both forums and chat servers since the days of IRC bots in the mid/late 90s. Forums and chat servers do not mix. Forums are conversational frameworks that encourage interaction. Chat servers are random hodgepodges that were originally intended for for time sensitive communications.
Chat servers are hard to moderate; the tools provided are sparse, the logs are troublesome, and being able to trace a specific line of events is a pita. The groups that tend to talk on chat servers do not tend to add any value to a forum community over the long term. They're used to a different medium, and they don't tend to care for the gentle exchange of ideas over long periods of time.
The only good reason that I could possibly imagine for a forum to have a Discord group is for gaming. However, I see no gaming events and no gaming staff to moderate the potential messes. The only other (somewhat good) reason would be if the forum exists solely to provide announcements and support for the chat group. However, it's clear that the forum community is a fully independent creature.
This takes me back to my original question. This site doesn't have a lot of moderators (certainly not enough to cover all time zones). Why spread your resources out to places that are going to be hard to control?
I saw a link to a discord server posted today, and basically went like "wtf". If you look at the pros and the cons, then there are a lot more cons to discord groups than pros. It takes me back to my original question. Why? All that is being done is the creation of a separate, more difficult to moderate, community with its own culture which may or may not grow and develop in line with the forum.
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Cy~
I have a simple question. Why does this site have a Discord group?
There doesn't seem to be much linkage between the forum and the discord group. Not only that, but the forum itself actually has a built-in chat feature (which is rarely used). As far as I can tell, the sole function of the discord group is to cannibalize the "stickiness" of the forum.
Let me speak from my own experience on this. I have ran and been a moderator in both forums and chat servers since the days of IRC bots in the mid/late 90s. Forums and chat servers do not mix. Forums are conversational frameworks that encourage interaction. Chat servers are random hodgepodges that were originally intended for for time sensitive communications.
Chat servers are hard to moderate; the tools provided are sparse, the logs are troublesome, and being able to trace a specific line of events is a pita. The groups that tend to talk on chat servers do not tend to add any value to a forum community over the long term. They're used to a different medium, and they don't tend to care for the gentle exchange of ideas over long periods of time.
The only good reason that I could possibly imagine for a forum to have a Discord group is for gaming. However, I see no gaming events and no gaming staff to moderate the potential messes. The only other (somewhat good) reason would be if the forum exists solely to provide announcements and support for the chat group. However, it's clear that the forum community is a fully independent creature.
This takes me back to my original question. This site doesn't have a lot of moderators (certainly not enough to cover all time zones). Why spread your resources out to places that are going to be hard to control?
I saw a link to a discord server posted today, and basically went like "wtf". If you look at the pros and the cons, then there are a lot more cons to discord groups than pros. It takes me back to my original question. Why? All that is being done is the creation of a separate, more difficult to moderate, community with its own culture which may or may not grow and develop in line with the forum.
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