As a community, I think the conversations found in the roleplaying discussion are very important to the Roleplaying Community as a whole particularly when discussing the evolving trends and patterns found both here and on other roleplaying websites and mediums. Lately, a lot of conversation has been focussed around the necessity of a character sheet and its structure, but I'd like to discuss another modern trend in Post-by-Post RPs.

Discord Servers.

Before making this topic, I took a quick peruse through the existing topics and I did notice there were previous discussions on roleplaying on Discord and while that is a modern trend, that's more or less the same as roleplaying in any instant messenger medium. I would like to iterate at this point, that 'Discord Roleplaying' is not the focal point of this discussion but rather the use of Discord as a replacement to the Out of Character Thread.

Often when looking at an interest check or a new RP, including my own, there's a link to the RP's Discord floating around, whether in the opening post or later on. If there isn't one provided by the GM, it's often requested and in some cases even provided by one of the participating players. But are these Discord Servers and Channels actually conducive to the overall health of an RP, or are they another distraction?

Discord Servers offer a great way for a GM to get to know their players, provide feedback and answer questions a lot faster than a conventional Out of Character Thread allows. Servers can be divided up in channels with specific purposes, I often divide mine into the following:

-General Chat
-Character Application Discussion
-Plot Discussion
-Character Discussion

Each of these channels is micro-managed by assigning roles and appropriate permissions. For those of you not familiar with Discord, each server contains channels within it, the list above is an example of my channels that I use for an RP. Users can be assigned 'roles' and each channel can be given permissions which allow you to set which role can and can't see the channel. So using the above list as an example, a player who has been given the 'Accepted Role' would be able to see every channel, except the 'Character Application Discussion' because I like to avoid the 'too many cooks in the kitchen' situation. Whereas someone who was 'Pending Acceptance' would only be able to see the 'General Chat' and 'Character Application Discussion'. A 'GM' would be able to see every channel.

In this regard, a Discord Server can be a lot more organized than the conventional OOC Thread. However, does organization necessarily promote productivity? In my personal experiences, the single most used channel is the 'General Chat', which often devolves to gifs, memes and jokes (that I don't often understand). Now I have seen some OOCs devolve into 'shit posting', but the pace is nothing compared to when it happens in a Discord Server. This is often a problem where both with an OOC and a Discord, where people would rather 'chat' than write for the IC (although this could entirely be a commentary on kindred souls seeking each other out on a mutual medium).

My biggest personal hold up on Discord Servers is the idea that they could exclude some players. I'm a firm believer that for the Discord Server to be efficient, that all players must join the Server so that no one is excluded. Even if the GM is communicating their plans and announcements in both the Discord and the OOC, the players likely won't and can't be expected to do so. For this reason, the OOC has the advantage in that everyone who is in the roleplay has immediate access to it. Adding to this thought, even those in the Discord can be excluded due to how rapidly some Discords can advance throughout the day due to those who remain connected for sixteen plus hours per day and contribute quite regularly. Information can be missed and lost in a way that doesn't happen in even a fast-moving OOC (with exceptions).

One major difference I have noted with Discord more so than any other instant messaging service in the past is the solidification of 'cliques' leading to clique warfare behind the scene. I think this is the single largest turn off of using Discord as it creates a toxic environment and breeds a mob mentality that is not only detrimental to the RP but the site as a whole. Discord makes it far too easy to have entire channels and chats dedicated to negatively discussing threads and people. I have had mods delete posts in the OOC of my threads to avoid drama spreading only for players who were offline at the time to direct message me to find out what was deleted. This has also extended to players messaging me privately to bash on a sheet or player they don't like and unfortunately I too have displayed these same behaviours from time to time. Yes, this could happen on the Guild through the PM system, but in my past experience before Discord, it was far less common.

I'm not going to put a verdict on this post as to which is better, because that's not the point of a discussion. I'm not trying to say everyone should or shouldn't use a Discord for their RP, but merely wanting to get an insight into the community and learn how Discord has been affecting roleplaying as a whole. Are you a fan of it? Do you hate it? Would you use one or do you expect it?

Please weigh in below.