Official SOS Discord server?

DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
No noted. Before a Discord Admin is appointed, let's just see if the few members who have time to use it are willing to be civil, first. Knowing this crowd, that should not be too difficult. This isn't a Rust Server.
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My advice, as indicated, was based on opening up VoIP services to the entire community. If it’s just going to be for a few members, then it’s another matter entirely.
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
My guess is that even though the Discord is open to all, only a few of us will use it.
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You’re probably right. It’s a different thing than the forum and might not appeal to that many. Also, I’m guessing most members are not familiar with it at all, compared to gaming communities where most gamers are, and are usually already set up for it technically.
But it’s a great way to hang out over common interests. Back in the day when I was using it, it was with groups of older gamers that didn’t feel connected to the mostly much younger players of the gaming world. It ended up being a great community, and many of us are still friends to this day.
 
Montaigne said:
I humbly disagree. As a former gamer I’ve used similar live chat and VoIP (voice chat) services, mainly TeamSpeak, and gamed for many years with community members from all over the world while voice chatting. The servers are open 24/7 and members drop by at all times depending on their schedules and time zones. I’m in Sweden and frequently chatted with people from the US, The Netherlands, Germany, Australia, the UK and many other. It’s a great way to hang out over a shared interest, and complements a community forum in a nice way. You get to know the people behind the avatars and many times people make friends for life this way.

The mechanics of it are very basic; anyone who knows how to use a forum can learn how to use a chat software like Discord. The main obstacle is that you need a decent quality headset based microphone or similar setup. Poor quality microphone inputs can be difficult for people to listen to in the long run. Also, you cannot use speakers, because it will create feedback loops where everyone hear themselves multiplied. In my experience, this is where things might get difficult for members that have less knowledge about computers; how to get proper audio working. But Discord can also be used on phones, where audio setup is already established and proper headsets are often already in use.

The one thing that needs to be emphasized is that it’s advisable to have moderators appointed to on and off monitor the chats. People don’t always get along, and in open chat rooms things might escalate quicker than on forums where people get to think a bit before posting. But in my experience it’s rare that that happens, and the precense of moderators tend to remind people to contribute to a socially healthy environment.

Oh, and hi everyone! This is my first post.
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A spoken word among a few people does not help those not involved. But that is the purpose of the forum. Written things can be corrected or explained later, spoken misunderstandings cannot. As far as I know, there are significant cost differences in network access. Not everyone can afford it just like that. This would then be the beginnings of a social divide. I don't think anyone here wants that.
 
Mash said:
A spoken word among a few people does not help those not involved. But that is the purpose of the forum. Written things can be corrected or explained later, spoken misunderstandings cannot. As far as I know, there are significant cost differences in network access. Not everyone can afford it just like that. This would then be the beginnings of a social divide. I don't think anyone here wants that
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You have good points and I appreciate the perspectives.

It could never be a replacement of a forum; it’s two completely different mediums. Voice chat on forum based communities is commonly seen as a complementary option, pretty much similar to the option that people could call each other on the phone, which forum members sometimes do. Voice chat channels that are open 24/7 just makes that option a bit more relaxed, a bit like “going down to the pub to hang out”, for lack of better comparison.

Yes, there is a difference in network bandwidth needed, about 5 times more than regular web page browsing. You have a good point that that’s not accessible to everyone. It’s easy to forget where I live, where bandwidth is cheap.

There is already a social divide present on written social media like SOS, where some people feel alienated by only being able to communicate via text. This limits people with dyslexia, which is about 10% of the population, as well as people that for other reasons struggle with the written word. Talking verbally to other people is the most common ground we have as humans. But a forum like SOS already present the probably biggest divide there is: language. A vast number of people struggle with the English language. It’s close to impossible to be accessible to everyone.

The divides are already there in all kinds of ways. The way I see it is that by adding options such as voice chat, one adds more possibilities to communicate, not less. But like you say, with yet additional divides regarding who can use it and not. Also, people that struggle with the English language tend to find it more challenging to speak English than to write it.
 
Montaigne said:
You have good points and I appreciate the perspectives.

It could never be a replacement of a forum; it’s two completely different mediums. Voice chat on forum based communities is commonly seen as a complementary option, pretty much similar to the option that people could call each other on the phone, which forum members sometimes do. Voice chat channels that are open 24/7 just makes that option a bit more relaxed, a bit like “going down to the pub to hang out”, for lack of better comparison.

Yes, there is a difference in network bandwidth needed, about 5 times more than regular web page browsing. You have a good point that that’s not accessible to everyone. It’s easy to forget where I live, where bandwidth is cheap.

There is already a social divide present on written social media like SOS, where some people feel alienated by only being able to communicate via text. This limits people with dyslexia, which is about 10% of the population, as well as people that for other reasons struggle with the written word. Talking verbally to other people is the most common ground we have as humans. But a forum like SOS already present the probably biggest divide there is: language. A vast number of people struggle with the English language. It’s close to impossible to be accessible to everyone.

The divides are already there in all kinds of ways. The way I see it is that by adding options such as voice chat, one adds more possibilities to communicate, not less. But like you say, with yet additional divides regarding who can use it and not. Also, people that struggle with the English language tend to find it more challenging to speak English than to write it.
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All this is true. If anyone want to talk shop in an hour or two, I'll be lurking on the Discord. Jimsky was there last night, thanks to him for testing the thing out. It was a 10 minute job setting up the text and voice chat, mostly because Discord has so many options which none of us care about. If anyone wants to show up, I'll be there.
 
DARIVS ARCHITECTVS said:
All this is true. If anyone want to talk shop in an hour or two, I'll be lurking on the Discord. Jimsky was there last night, thanks to him for testing the thing out. It was a 10 minute job setting up the text and voice chat, mostly because Discord has so many options which none of us care about. If anyone wants to show up, I'll be there.
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I can't seem to get back into the server.
 
It finally gave me the boot.

Edit: I have created a temporary channel here so I can try and figure what the settings are doing and why the voice chat is failing if anyone wants to help out. I will be deleting this server later.
 
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Discord can be a good idea. I have used it with gaming groups. Hardest part I have seen was staying on topic for a thread.
 
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