Is Discord a terrible alternative to forums or am I just using it wrong

[Gunboat Diplomat]

This is really a bit of a self-indulgent moan about the internet not being the way I like it anymore, I expect the appeal of this thread (or otherwise) will largely hinge on your age, but anyway...

 

I'm in a few airsoft related Discord groups, namely because they contain info I can't get anywhere else and are by and large far more active than forums.  But for the love of Christ, the experience of using them is painful.  Having an ever scrolling wall of text, out of context replies to prior comments punctuated by sporadic memes just makes my head hurt. 

 

I just can't fathom why anyone would prefer this over a forum thread, other than the low-effort barrier to entry.

 

What am I missing here?  

[Tackle]

Never used them, & on the basis of your post, I'll probably stay away from them, given my age lol 

[Enid_Puceflange]

I suppose it depends which Discord you are using

Im also a member of a few, most of them are exactly what you say

Some groups are very good, a hive of knowledge and helpful

Others are packed with gobshites and trolls

[Gunboat Diplomat]

It’s not so much the groups themselves (some have some really useful info and knowledgeable contributors) but the actual platform that I dislike.

 

The entire UX design is just a shit experience for the kind of long form discussion that nerdy hobbies like ours benefit from. 
 

[Skara]

Well it's up to the server owner/mod, there are ways to make locked threads with guides and stuff like this, have threads dedicated to pictures/videos and anything in between.

 

I'd stay away from huge servers like Airsoft International, that place is an absolute shithole and everyone there is mega entitled.. I prefer smaller servers, where new people are invited to (can't publicly join) and where discussions are actually enjoyable and knowledge is actually shared.

[Lyndication]

As someone who remembers the IRC and Forum heyday, you just described an awful lot of old forums ngl. Some sites you could have a page of discussion fly through a thread between starting and ending your post. Plus all the etiquette like never double posting, giving fully paragraphed answers to things that aren't as relevant now because, well, forums are a shadow of what they were sadly. 

 

I find Discord useful for getting answers to questions but I definitely find a lot of servers a bit too high tempo to keep up with. 

 

Better organised ones can have things like slowmode channels for preventing inane prattering, and much like the old forum days, the quality lives and dies on how diligent the mods are about actually enforcing the rules. 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

1 hour ago, Lyndication said:

you just described an awful lot of old forums ngl

True, I freely admit to some old-git nostalgia about how much better it was in my day and all this used to be fields and a Freddo was only 5p etc…

[Cannonfodder]

Never used ot as I can't be arsed with yet another social media app. From what I've read I'm not missing much 

[Gunboat Diplomat]

4 hours ago, Cannonfodder said:

From what I've read I'm not missing much 

 

Well, the thing is you might be - some of the groups have some great info/contributors, just the platform sucks.  Would be great if all those people would join up to the forum.

 

In case it wasn't becoming self-evident, yes I am petulantly demanding everyone use the internet the way I want...

[Gwen]

Discords as a voice/text chat are great; and the pinned posts can be useful for sharing important info and context.
Threads are wonderful for splitting up related but separate conversations.

But good grief are they awful at sharing infomation like guides, or set up instructions, or what forums are used for!  

[Lyndication]

The only one I'm really active in anymore is the Heavy Recoil Club, and mostly to skim off the results of an awful lot of autistic people tinkering with their guns. 

 

You really have to step back from the process and argument and wait for them to agree on a pinned solution to a problem. It's a headache otherwise. 

 

Sometimes they're handy for more general advice like kit or optics, but not great because it's an international space and during Yankee Hours you get Americans boasting about all the real parts they can buy for about tree fiddy.

[Gunboat Diplomat]

5 minutes ago, Lyndication said:

Heavy Recoil Club

Yep - this one is my most frequented and equally most frustrating at times.

[Austeyr]

43 minutes ago, Lyndication said:

The only one I'm really active in anymore is the Heavy Recoil Club, and mostly to skim off the results of an awful lot of autistic people tinkering with their guns. 

 

You really have to step back from the process and argument and wait for them to agree on a pinned solution to a problem. It's a headache otherwise. 

 

Sometimes they're handy for more general advice like kit or optics, but not great because it's an international space and during Yankee Hours you get Americans boasting about all the real parts they can buy for about tree fiddy.

 

Me, a poor UK Resident: "Hey guys, what IDZ stock fits a VFC G36"

Non UK residents: "Just buy a real one bro!!!!"

 

[Lyndication]

Getting told to buy a real AR upper for my VFC by Billybob because it's cheaper than a VFC one where he's at. 

 

We do get some fun surplus stuff here that they don't get though, at least. 

[Cannonfodder]

11 hours ago, Gunboat Diplomat said:

some of the groups have some great info/contributors,

I remember the same thing being said about faceache groups and pretty much every other form of social media.

 

One of the big advantages forums have over other places is that it's easier to find previously posted information, whereas newer platforms are designed to force users to post rather than actually put in any effort to finding the answers themselves.

[Shotround]

Depends how they are run, well structure threads with topics and snippets of the good info, but it all depends on the admin and/or members. 
The GBBR discord is decent and a good area for knowledge and tips, not toxic that ive ever seen. Then you have some discords that are just hell holes and impossible without the search function.