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PaperclipPerfector  5d ago (text post)   2392 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for June 8, 2025

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 do you use discord?

I don't need, like, a literal user's guide. I mean, how do you use it in a way that's actually practical, fun, and not overwhelming?

I grew up with AIM and online chat rooms, so i'm not a stranger to this sort of thing. But discord just seems so hectic and overwhelming. It's, well, discord in a literal sense.

Every channel I join, starts with this huge list of rules that I have to agree before I can even see anything. Then there's usually a host of hidden channels that all require separate hidden handshakes to enter. It's policed by mods who seem to take their jobs very seriously. Then there's so many different users, all spamming things at each other, and so many different notifications. It's literally impossible for me to read everything even from just one discord channel, let alone if I'm in multiple.

Bad experiences that I've had:

  • had been chatting with people on there for a while. Tried to set up a dinner to finally meet offline at an event. It got too hectic and we never managed to find each other.
  • had been chatting for a while with a different small group. We had our own subchannel led by a mod. The mod apparently had some hiddend drama with the admin (I have no idea what), got banned, and our whole group was kicked out. We all lost contact.
  • Went to a newly created channel where there was only 1 other regular user. We chatted for a bit about random stuff, then got warned by a mod for being "offtopic" and moved to separate rooms. We were literally the only people there.
  • in general just a flood of notifications and messages that I find incredibly distracting. I can't keep it open if I need to do anything else. I have no idea how some people manage to just sit on there all day and respond to everything.
  • mute servers unless every single message on there is important
  • mute channels you don't need so they don't light up
  • mute categories
  • set notification settings on the server to "only @mentions" or none
  • don't join silly servers

This should be enough that you only see the big red (1) if someone addressed you directly or has the privilege to ping everyone.

I've been using discord mostly for keeping tabs on specific games' updates as well as a few thematic communities, as well as a personal friends' group. I have no recollection of any server being that silly besides, ironically, the motte/rdrama BotC server. If I don't need to watch a server, I don't even quit it, I just mute it completely and move it down the list.

That sounds like "the best way to use it is to not use it at all." But yeah I'll try adding more mutes.

the best way to use it is to not use it at all

Yes.

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