There are some things where discord is better, and some things where it is worse.  I view the two as complementary.  

Discord is good for *chat*. It's IRC with an updated interface. It does that very well. 

But forums are better for discussion. They are easier to categorize and threads with titles are easier to skim/search. I realize discord has a thread feature, but it's still nothing close to a forum.

I started using a program recently that only had a discord and it's very unhelpful if you are looking for information. It's disorganized and impossible to follow discussion from other users on using the program. 

I suspect developers and such like discord because it's next to trivial to setup and use compared to a real forum. 

It's a good point, having one login for multiple support channels. Hard to argue against that but I will admit, I don't like using Discord. I don't like the whole chat aspect, how it's all set up and how cluttered and obnoxious it feels, especially in busy channels. Though I understand why it's being used, I understand the appeal.

Add me to the curmudgeon list.  I'm fine with change when it improves things, but I just don't see discord as being better for the purpose of product support and support discussions.  I keep thinking I must be missing something.

I hate Discord with a vengeance. It's a total mess. Mile-long threads with no real way of finding *specific* information amongst the garbage. It may (or may not) be easier for the developers ... but what about making it easier for us poor *users* to get support - often for products for which we have paid good money for. 

But discord has all those cute cartoon animals everywhere! Maybe Avsim should scatter cartoons of Sebastian Wlock on its forum

Or maybe scatter sketches of Mister Randazzo here and there. Something to bring more people in.

Hi,

I hesitated like everyone else, especially coming from forums that started 20+ years ago. Once you get used to the new flow of the Discord forum area, it is almost exactly the same as the regular forum we use at SimForums. You just need to see the different markings.

For example, little numbers next to a forum to indicate new content. Or bold text. Once you reply to a thread, it is automatically "followed" in the left. You can unfollow it if needed.

It is not as hard as folks think, and when you start pasting and uploading videos or pictures and realize it is so easy, then you begin understanding and appreciate its strengths.

You can keep it in a web browser too without installing the Windows app. Some do use the mobile app. But when you access it many times a day the Windows app is better.

I suggest give it a chance. As mentioned I was a holdout too. It depends on what you are doing also. For example, Avsim is fine in a forum format. But when you need many images, video uploads, etc, to help with support, it really becomes easier than we we have used. It just takes some getting used to.

 

Thank you for that explanation, I personally hate discord too, mainly because I don’t understand it and it looks a mess. I’ve never seen any notes on how it works and it seems nowadays we are just expected to be born with an innate knowledge of how things work with out explanation.

Thanks again for taking the time to explain that, at least now if I’m forced to go on discord it might make a little more sense.

Gosh, I thought I was the only one.  It's a complete shambles and very hard to find anything useful. 

Almost all the developers who do support via Discord have their support channels set up in a topic-based format. (see screenshot below). These topics are easily searchable and have specific answers to the support question. No different than forums. Also, note the use of tags in the support topic to quickly narrow down the focus you are looking for.

If your preferred developer does not have Discord support set up this way, you probably need to request it.

PS one login to multiple developers is a HUGE plus.

Edited October 14, 20241 yr by hs118

On 10/13/2024 at 12:53 PM, DavidP said:

Really can't understand why it is so popular.

I too dislike Discord. At least the chosen name describes it perfectly. I guess that Discursive would have been too ambiguous... 

Discord - noun: disagreement between people

It is another tool like anything else to get a quick answer, spend too much time on there yes you will see the bullying behaviour that happens with gaming culture. These forums now 25 years old now have always been civilised and well moderated for the most part, but 25 years of this concept is ancient by computer standards

One of the VA'S to which  I belong seems to be planning a full move to Discord. The explanation is that abandoning their URL would eliminate the charges they have to pay for it.

so it goes, and yes like other posters here, I find Discord to be annoyingly cumbersome and difficult to use.

perhaps I am one of the curmudgeons, but I am certainly no Luddite

 

Sherm 

Me too. Hate the Discord.

It is horrible for the user for information and support. I strictly see it as a chat area.

Any company that relies heavily on Discord I do not buy their products.