Talk: Discord

First Year Impressions and Proposals

Okay so after a full year we have grown from a group of one-digit members to a four-digit community. This is great and I can only dread what will happen when Dragon Age 4 is released and the wiki receives x10 times more traffic than this period. However with the more members, changes need to be made also. The model was oriented and worked perfectly with a low-member count but amendments need to be made so that it works better for 2020+ as well.

• Remove the #off-topic channel.

Off-topic conversations on other channels (such as the #general) are allowed only if they are related in some way with the Dragon Age franchise. There are many many communities out there that you can discuss other topics but Dragon Age Wiki server is not and should not be the place for such conversation.

• Editors section.
  • Create a Patroller role for the editors who are also patrollers and give it full channel permissions on the editor channels so that they'd be able to sticky things and self-moderate the channels. Chat moderators should supervise only the public Wiki channels; we editors don't need your oversight, thank you very much
  • Open reading permissions for the #lounge, #get-help, and #collaboration channels to the public but without posting or reaction rights. Transparency is a positive thing and might also lure new users to start editing.
  • The #proposals channel to be made strictly for Dragon Age wiki stuff, proposals for emojis and other unrelated things should go elsewhere.

The most important reason why we created this server was not for 'idle conversation' but because we wanted the editors to be able to collaborate with each other and also gain new blood. These changes and proposals are directed on this founding principle. 10:41, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

Full support! The Other Greaves (talk) 10:55, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

100% on-board EzzyD (talk) 18:13, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

I see no reason why the Editor role can't also be given those permissions on the editing sections unless there's a desire for a secondary role, unless the intent is that only senior editors recieve those permissions. In which case, using something more neutral like 'Senior Editor' might a) get that point across without looking like a moderator/punitive role and b) give something for newer editors to shoot for. As to removing off-topic, it has a use to shoo conversations that have become no longer DA-related.

The original-characters channel is also one not focused on collaborating between editors, as with the art channel. Is the intent to strip all of those channels as well? If the intent of the Wiki server is to remain strictly focused on the DA Wiki and developing lore, then perhaps that is the best solution - but those channels came about organically, by request of active members who were also active in developing lore and piecing together canon.

I'm not opposed to the Editor channels being open to read-only for non-editors, though I haven't seen much conversation traffic there recently. I would caution that it might make certain conversations harder to have, as from what I've seen most of the editors have relationships going back years and are able to 'short-hand' conversations in a way that might read very differently to someone new. There's value to the extra frankness that can be had just between those senior people speaking in a closed environment - and the Discord server provides a means to do so with real-time and group communication. ToshiNama (talk) 13:39, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

1st paragraph: That's the title that all wikis use for those users with some extra buttons, so I don't think it should change. However the idea that it is going to be an extra, secondary role so users would still be sorted out and colored by the 'Editors' role. Off-topic has proved to be more harmful to the server than useful. It is a Dragon Age-related server so I think we can easily manage without it.

2nd paragraph: I have not proposed removing #original-characters or #art.

3rd paragraph: Why would certain conversations need to be hidden from the public? 14:27, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

Replying -

1) I admit I'm still new to some of the details of Wiki admin: if it's a common term, then I withdraw my concern! However, it's not a term that's used in other areas and may wind up being intimidating to new users. That's something that can be managed, though. 2) Agreed that there has been a lot of issue with the off-topic channel, but it has been largely confined to a few users who have also caused issues within general. The question was more of a general one - how narrowly focused do you want the Wiki server to be? I can see reason to remove both of those as well, especially as there have been issues on the art channel for similar reasons to off-topic. They haven't happened as often, but have happened. ToshiNama (talk) 17:44, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

I don't think we have ever tried to moderate anything in the editor channels, nor has there been a need to, so I am more than happy to give up my moderation rights for those channels. In fact, I am happy to fully give up my access to those channels, since I have done very little editing myself.

However, I am opposed to removing the off-topic channel. It has been crucial for people in the community to bond and form friendships, leading to a community that feels more like an actual "community" than what we have in Discussions. Removing this channel would also lead to more off-topic stuff popping up in the other channels, which means that we would have to moderate more stuff and tell people off for having a normal conversation. I understand the sentiment to keep the discord server Dragon Age and Lore focused, but I don't think that the channel interferes with that or the editors work. I see very few downsides to keeping this channel. Warden Nuggins (talk) 15:42, August 28, 2020 (UTC)

I'm pretty new at this format, so I hope I'm doing this right.

Off-Topic

I strongly disagree with the removal of the #off-topic channel. It has been in our server since the beginning which many of our active regulars are very fond of. The server is still primarily about Dragon Age with one channel off to the side where our members can talk about other games and media, their days, and just generally forming friendships in there. I don’t see the harm in allowing the community to have that small outlet for casual talk about non-DA topics.

Editors Area

• Mods have never needed to step in and moderate in the Editors area in the first place, so I have no objections to having our rights rescinded and the Editors gaining rights in those channels so that you can all moderate yourselves.
• I have no objections allowing the #lounge, #get-help, and #collaborations channels be read-only to regular members. The more people are exposed to and get interested in editing the Wiki, the better.
  
• I know #proposals was used to introduce new emoji ideas before, but that hasn’t been the case for a couple of months now and could have simply been sorted by originally asking those doing it to refrain from it. As such, I have no objections for non-DA Wiki material to be moved elsewhere.

I understand this server’s purpose is primarily as an Editors hub, but part of building up our community’s membership and bringing in “new blood” to the Editor team is allowing, at least a little bit, the community members who do come into the server the chance to have idle conversations. As Nuggins said, it doesn’t interfere with the Editors work, so I don’t see the harm in allowing the general channels and especially the #off-topic channel to have a more casual atmosphere. Steele-Wool (talk) 00:35, August 29, 2020 (UTC)

The off-topic channel has become rife with all manner of subjects that should objectively be considered inappropriate for anything but private conversations. It was originally meant for talking about things like other games, or maybe benign topics such as, I don't know, food or movies or something of that nature. It is *not* meant for spamming Nikki Minaj material or baiting LGBT material to get a rise out of other users.

This has gotten out of hand, and the moderators have failed to step in and manage things the way it should be handled. And recently led to several users outright leaving the server. You may not enjoy being called out like that, but it's the truth.

One of the most straightforward paths to regaining some semblance of order is to remove the OT channel entirely, and place much more emphasis into keeping things *on-topic* in the channels actually meant for DA discussions. It's a Dragon Age server first and foremost. "No IRL politics or religious discussions" should be applied fairly and equally to all users. If people want to 'build friendships' and discuss their political opinions over religion or social justice matters, that's what private channels are for. EzzyD (talk) 16:56, August 29, 2020 (UTC)

Removing the off-topic channel is just asking for the rest of the channels to get clogged up with non-DA topics. In its current state, it serves as a buffer zone where memes and other subjects can go. I do recognize that it's choked up with garbage more often than not, but I don't want said garbage on the other channels.

The rest of the proposals sound fine. Sir Insomnius (talk) 17:02, August 29, 2020 (UTC)

Relatively new to the Discord server and in that time, I’ve seen both the good and the bad.

I disagree with removing the off topic and predict that if it were to be removed much of the conversation across all rooms would start to fade. This is because the off topic fosters community in ways other channels can't and as mods have mentioned, it makes it far less likely people are going to post non DA related stuff in other rooms which in my experience people had led to people being very willing (and even proactively correcting themselves) to move to the correct room without incident. Furthermore, it can be quite intimidating to jump headfirst into the chat and get straight into talking about hard DA lore with the biggest lore nerds (meant endearingly) around, especially if your views are community divergent. Off topic offers respite from the heavier conversations found elsewhere where people can build their confidence before heading into another room.

It should not also be forgotten that we are probably one of the most visible DA chatrooms as many people will come to this wiki for assistance in understanding various aspects in the game and will see it on the front page. It is to the server's great credit therefore that instead of putting up a wall against things not strictly lore related, it has instead become a hub for discussion of dragon age content where people can stick to one or two channels that interest them or spread their wings across all channels further fuelling engagement.

TLDR off topic works in tandem with the other rooms not against them, it is a community bridge that if removed may slowly lead to the decline of the server, until it becomes purely an editor's chat and as it seems they have their own rooms anyway this seems unnecessary and won't aid in the recruitment of new editors.

With regards to people misusing the server for controversial content, it's true that this also has the potential till kill server growth and dilute the quality of conversation. My view is that the rules should be expanded on with clear lines for rules broken. Certain things such as bigotry or death threats should (and are) be actively investigated by moderators and the posters be punished without question or debate and the punishment for these things should be clear in the rules. I'd also probably suggest that things like politics and religion be included in that. Below that however when it comes to people sharing interests in characters that may be controversial or 'banter' which can involve light mockery, I’d say this should be on a lower tier where users should be encourage to take care of who they may offend, but users should perhaps only be warned if the matter is reported to a moderator due to it causing particular offence to another user. I think in this system the person doing the reporting should generally be favoured over those 'bantering' as it'll be clear in the rules that they need to take care, however I know there  are those who will report anything and everything discussed by those they don't like and this should also be taken into account.

Overall, I've seen great potential here and my experience has been mostly positive, I think a lot of disruption comes from a small group of individuals who take absolute views on certain topics that are unrelated to dragon age which seems to be the main source of controversy. This is why I’d also add a vague rule that states that moderators may ask take action against users who harm the environment of the chat. They should be given guidance first then punished if they continue, with long term bans if they continue to disrupt. We should remember many of these members are young who haven’t fully developed a sense of empathy or social skills.

Sorry for the super long post, I hope it provides insight from a recent addition to the discord with an interest in its continued health and future growth.  User:The W!Z3MAN/Sig 19:51, August 29, 2020 (UTC)

I'm inclined to support the proposal. The offtopic channel has generally not been particularly helpful to either the quality of discussion or indeed anything related to DA or the wiki. It has often fostered hostility among our user base more than facilitating any kind of engagement or discussion with anything actually related to DA.

-16:11, August 30, 2020 (UTC)