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PaperclipPerfector  3mo ago (text post)   3121 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for August 11, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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How much useful/well-curated information is on Discord servers that isn’t available or as accessible on websites and social media?

The phenomenon of information that should be hosted on a wiki or forum ending up locked behind a groomercord discord login wall is frequently complained about on rdrama, of all places. They even have a rule (inconsistently enforced) against mentioning personal use of discord in order to prevent the site from turning into nothing but discord in-jokes. I've observed it countless times myself mostly in the sphere of video game mods, where you have to join a discord to view any documentation or instructions related to a mod.

This is stupid and a downgrade in standard of living compared to the information being on the (googleable) public internet. Alas, as the internet becomes more normiefied, it seems the median internet user is more inclined towards consuming information in a conversation format rather than article format (see also popularity of ChatGPT). So this will probably just get worse.

I'll just second @netstack. Far too much information lives on Discord. Especially on video games, of course, but also regarding many kinds of digital technology. I hate it.

It is a website, and has social media ambitions.

But it has a lot of hobby information that isn't kept elsewhere with any consistency. There are mods like STALKER GAMMA which keep all their installation instructions, troubleshooting, etc. on Discord. Sometimes it's a substitute for matchmaking, too, which isn't exactly information, but still pulls more people into the orbit.

Even non-hobby stuff that would have been a forum has a chance to end up on Discord. Conflict Observer comes to mind.

matchmaking

What, like setting people up on dates? Is this a common use case for Discord?

No, I was referring to gamers.

No like

Hey guys looking for one more player for XYZ game

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