![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I seem to keep answering the same questions about Discord again and again, so I thought I'd make a post. I am no Discord expert. I was a stubborn hold out for a while. I've never modded one. Still, here are some basics in case this is useful.
How to find servers:
Here is my order of operations for looking for a server for a fandom.
1) Check the fandom meta blog. You know those tumblrs that reblog all the actual content on a tag so people can see the latest posts without having to see the trolls? They often have a link to the fandom discord if one exists.
2) Ask on the tumblr tag. When skulking around main fandom blogs fails, just ask.
3) Check for a DW comm. If one exists, discord info may be on the profile page. Again, it's also a place to ask. Maybe also ask on Twitter?
4) Join the Discords of your other fandoms or related fandoms and ask.
It's always possible that none exists yet or that it's tiny or dead. If 1-4 fail, there is a good chance this is the case.
You are on a server, now what?
1) If this is your first Discord, go to Discord settings for notifications, privacy, sound and dark mode.
2) Look for what channels you want to mute. Some channels are made to be muted by most users. Meme channels and self-promo channels exist to quarantine that content. Muting any really active channel is no big deal.
3) Periods, does your server use them? Okay, this is weird, but periods are considered oddly aggressive on some servers. I don't know where this came from, but it's a thing. It's like using CAPS LOCK to some people and sends bad social cues. It's a good idea to lurk for a second and see if people are dropping their ending punctuation.
If you are sending a message of more than one sentence, you only need to leave off the final one. For example:
Hey guys! I finished my fic. Man, it took me forever. ❌
Hey guys! I finished my fic. Man, it took me forever ✔
Ins, outs and general tips:
People's display names change per server. Avatars don't. You can always click on a name to see an account name and add notes.
The main general chat is usually off-topic. It's general chatter. Fandom specific chatter is often in other channels. Don't get stressed out if your Transformers discord is talking Go Bots or recipes or MCU in the general chat.
If a chat, like general, if bothering you bop on over to another channel. This is why there are a lot of channels, way more than could be used at once. It's so people can peace out and maybe start a conversation on symbolism of the colors of various Transformers down in #Lore-and-meta
Emoji! They are used to react to other people's comments. People might use emoji that you can't seem to access. In addition to the basic unicode emoji, every server has 50 custom emoji slots for that server. A person with a free account can only access emoji from the basic unicode set and the server they are on. Someone with a paid account can access emoji from all their servers at all times. It's a hundred bucks a year, so it's pretty spendy.
Running a fic exchange, challenge or event on Discord.
Yes, it can be done! Most servers I am on do it like this:
Make a channel for the event.
Write up rules and info and everything else in google docs.
Pin links to those docs at the top of the channel.
That is all I can think of right now. I may add to this as things occur to me or if people ask questions.
How to find servers:
Here is my order of operations for looking for a server for a fandom.
1) Check the fandom meta blog. You know those tumblrs that reblog all the actual content on a tag so people can see the latest posts without having to see the trolls? They often have a link to the fandom discord if one exists.
2) Ask on the tumblr tag. When skulking around main fandom blogs fails, just ask.
3) Check for a DW comm. If one exists, discord info may be on the profile page. Again, it's also a place to ask. Maybe also ask on Twitter?
4) Join the Discords of your other fandoms or related fandoms and ask.
It's always possible that none exists yet or that it's tiny or dead. If 1-4 fail, there is a good chance this is the case.
You are on a server, now what?
1) If this is your first Discord, go to Discord settings for notifications, privacy, sound and dark mode.
2) Look for what channels you want to mute. Some channels are made to be muted by most users. Meme channels and self-promo channels exist to quarantine that content. Muting any really active channel is no big deal.
3) Periods, does your server use them? Okay, this is weird, but periods are considered oddly aggressive on some servers. I don't know where this came from, but it's a thing. It's like using CAPS LOCK to some people and sends bad social cues. It's a good idea to lurk for a second and see if people are dropping their ending punctuation.
If you are sending a message of more than one sentence, you only need to leave off the final one. For example:
Hey guys! I finished my fic. Man, it took me forever. ❌
Hey guys! I finished my fic. Man, it took me forever ✔
Ins, outs and general tips:
People's display names change per server. Avatars don't. You can always click on a name to see an account name and add notes.
The main general chat is usually off-topic. It's general chatter. Fandom specific chatter is often in other channels. Don't get stressed out if your Transformers discord is talking Go Bots or recipes or MCU in the general chat.
If a chat, like general, if bothering you bop on over to another channel. This is why there are a lot of channels, way more than could be used at once. It's so people can peace out and maybe start a conversation on symbolism of the colors of various Transformers down in #Lore-and-meta
Emoji! They are used to react to other people's comments. People might use emoji that you can't seem to access. In addition to the basic unicode emoji, every server has 50 custom emoji slots for that server. A person with a free account can only access emoji from the basic unicode set and the server they are on. Someone with a paid account can access emoji from all their servers at all times. It's a hundred bucks a year, so it's pretty spendy.
Running a fic exchange, challenge or event on Discord.
Yes, it can be done! Most servers I am on do it like this:
Make a channel for the event.
Write up rules and info and everything else in google docs.
Pin links to those docs at the top of the channel.
That is all I can think of right now. I may add to this as things occur to me or if people ask questions.
