Seronimo asks:

Have you ever considered starting a discord chat for this blog? I feel like your blog attracts a very specific type of Pokemon fan, and we constantly flood your inbox with thoughts of our own since we have nowhere else to share ’em. Maybe you could herd us into a groupchat so we could bounce our absurd ideas off of each other, instead of making you respond to each one yourself?

Well, I have considered it.  I don’t regularly use Discord and I’m honestly not sure I really “get” it, and by setting up something like that I’d kinda be taking some responsibility for moderating it and being a regular presence there, which… as a long-term commitment I’m honestly not wild about.  On the other hand, there are a lot of things people seem to want to say to/about me for which the question-and-answer inbox is simply not a useful or effective outlet.  So I guess I’m not really against it, just unsure whether/how it would work.

3 thoughts on “Seronimo asks:

  1. I mean, you could appoint moderates and rarely have to do much. But it sorta defeats the purpose if you rarely engage with it. Like… I suppose I can see a use even if you’re not on it often, but it still seems a bit pointless. Discord isn’t really for everyone though. I suppose it’s a matter of whether you feel it serves a purpose.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Also I just realized when you say you don’t “get” it… do you mean you don’t get what Discord servers are used for?

    In case you did:

    Basically, think of it like an old internet chat room, except it’s asynchronous. You have a bunch of channels for different subjects and people on the server can post messages on a channel. It’s just essentially rooms for everyone to chat in. Unlike Discord messages, channels can be read by anyone on the server, and you can choose the amount of control you give there (whether it’s open to anyone or only available by invite, maybe even restricting invites to the moderators). Voice chat rooms are optional too. I use it a lot these days because I stream and am involved with many streaming communities. Though I also know people in academia who use Discord communities so it’s not just for gamers (though I think gamers are the biggest demographic).

    So like, I suppose whether it’s useful for you depends on how much control you want on your community. If you want to keep a lot of control over your community, Discord requires you to regularly check in to make sure your minions are all getting along and not plotting against you. But if you don’t really care what they do and just want a space for them to talk amongst themselves, risking them staging a coup in your dark dominion, you could just set up a Discord, assign a few mods, and show up every so often to give some quick morale speeches and try to maintain their loyalty.

    Like

    1. Yes and no. I understand in principle what it’s *for* and how it works practically; it’s just not a form of conversation I’m used to or can engage with particularly well.

      Like

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