adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

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adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Matt the Czar » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:21 am

#nicehappythings would allow for lighter discussion if the main #chat is dark or univiting, somewhat like how #SunshineLollipops was to IRC. Does it sound like a good idea?
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:34 am

Hell yes. I'd stopped frequenting our Discord post-election because it's so often filled with Trump discussion and I can't dwell on him 24/7. It'd be nice to discuss happier things on a regular basis.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Learned Nand » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:39 am

My concern is that there will be populations of people who stay in #SuneshineLollipops and don't visit #chat, or vice versa. Especially since the Discord / IRC split, the last thing we need is more bifurcation of the community.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Matt the Czar » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:40 am

it doesn't really split it. what happens is that once the topic that people don't like is over, people go back to #chat, simple as that.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Kate » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:41 am

To flesh it out more, I think the idea would be that if talk in main starts going to things that make people upset or uncomfortable or just plain bored, there would be another room that they could go and hang out in a relaxed, non-confrontational environment and just shoot the breeze with friends. Discord has the advantage of having all of the available rooms laid out on the side, so you know immediately when you log in where discussion is happening, so you can jump back into main at any point.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Bert » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:45 am

Alternatively, just have politics in its own channel, the same way we have it in its own forum on TCS. Easier in practice, and we've already done it for other topics on IRC.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby SilverMaple » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:49 am

Quite frankly, I deal with enough constant bombardment with political topics and arguments that make me feel uncomfortable and unwelcome in real life, so I'd very much prefer not to go onto chat and see the same sort of thing going on.

I don't really feel that creating a separate channel for lighter discussion would cause a split comparable to switching to an entirely new platform. If anything, I feel like it might attract more people who don't enjoy political arguments to join chat, and prevent people who dislike it from leaving chat entirely. A new channel doesn't seem like it would cause people to leave #chat entirely by any means, it would just provide a place for people to temporarily duck into when things get heated. I for one avoid Discord entirely when arguments are going on, and it'd be nice not to have to do that.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Matt the Czar » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:50 am

We threw around the idea of a politics channel, but #nht would be more general purpose, meaning it could be used to escape other things people don't like as well as from politics, and lessened fears of splitting discussion.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Learned Nand » Sun Jul 30, 2017 7:30 am

Matt the Czar wrote:it doesn't really split it. what happens is that once the topic that people don't like is over, people go back to #chat, simple as that.

Maybe, but I don't think there's a good way to ensure it would work that way. So we have to seriously consider whether it's worth the risk. Given the general popularity of politics as a topic of discussion, I'm not sure it is.

KleinerKiller wrote:Hell yes. I'd stopped frequenting our Discord post-election because it's so often filled with Trump discussion and I can't dwell on him 24/7. It'd be nice to discuss happier things on a regular basis.

You are free to discuss happy things in #chat currently.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby KleinerKiller » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:47 am

aviel wrote:
Matt the Czar wrote:it doesn't really split it. what happens is that once the topic that people don't like is over, people go back to #chat, simple as that.

Maybe, but I don't think there's a good way to ensure it would work that way. So we have to seriously consider whether it's worth the risk. Given the general popularity of politics as a topic of discussion, I'm not sure it is.


Discord doesn't work in such a way that this is something to actually worry about. All of the channels are laid out on the side and people can click through them to see what's going on in each in the span of seconds. I and many others carry out multiple channel conversations at once all the time on other boards without causing "splits" in the community. I'm genuinely confused as to where your concern is stemming from.

aviel wrote:.
KleinerKiller wrote:Hell yes. I'd stopped frequenting our Discord post-election because it's so often filled with Trump discussion and I can't dwell on him 24/7. It'd be nice to discuss happier things on a regular basis.

You are free to discuss happy things in #chat currently.


Yes, I'm free to derail whatever everyone else is talking about and interject something completely unrelated that may or may not just be ignored. That's not obnoxious at all. And that's entirely beside my point anyway.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Learned Nand » Sun Jul 30, 2017 9:52 am

KleinerKiller wrote:Discord doesn't work in such a way that this is something to actually worry about. All of the channels are laid out on the side and people can click through them to see what's going on in each in the span of seconds. I and many others carry out multiple channel conversations at once all the time on other boards without causing "splits" in the community. I'm genuinely confused as to where your concern is stemming from.

This happened before when we split Discord and IRC; some people didn't move to the Discord, we never merged the two, and as a result, it seriously starved IRC. Yet another general discussion chatroom could have the same effect.

Yes, I'm free to derail whatever everyone else is talking about and interject something completely unrelated that may or may not just be ignored.

That's how every topic of discussion works. Either people are talking about it, or you bring it up. Unless you want a chatroom for every topic, just so that you never have to do this, then this is always going to be an issue. If your problem about discussing happier things is that sometimes you have to interrupt people who aren't, you are going to find that even in #SunshineLollipops, there's no guarantee that people are discussing something you care about.
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Terry Pratchett wrote:The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.

Click for a Limerick
OrangeEyebrows wrote:There once was a guy, Aviel,
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He tested with Turing,
his circuits fried during,
and now we'll have peace for a spell.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby sunglasses » Sun Jul 30, 2017 12:20 pm

I don't feel there is an issue with having a channel as such.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Kate » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:34 pm

Comparing the emergence of Discord with making a channel in Discord is comparing apples and oranges. I know it's easier for some people to juggle clients, but it is more difficult for most people to keep two types of chat programs going at once. The same thing came up when people used to go to skype to talk. What did not have nearly as much impact was having multiple rooms in IRC, and that is almost exactly like a new channel in discord.

If, worst case scenario, chat stagnates in main because people prefer chat in a non-confrontational setting, then isn't that just people having access to the environment they want? I don't see that as a bad thing; anyone in either room can choose to cross over if they wish to.

I suspect that won't happen, though, and people will still be active in main. The advantage is that if main is driving you crazy, instead of logging off entirely and staying away from the server, people have the option of socializing elsewhere on the TCS server. I think this has the potential to increase activity and membership in chat by providing a more comfortable environment for anyone who feels unwelcome every time certain things pop up in main. This isn't to say it's wrong to argue politely or bring up topics people don't like, just that it could be beneficial to provide an alternative for people who don't wish to participate in it.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby Marcuse » Sun Jul 30, 2017 6:45 pm

I think the simplest way to implement this would be to add a channel where political topics aren't allowed. It would require way less moderation than a politics only channel, and given it would be optional it wouldn't necessarily require people to focus only on one channel. I see no compelling reason to prevent this, and if it makes people feel more able to participate openly in the chat then I don't see why that can't be done.
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Re: adding a #nicehappythings channel to the Discord server

Postby NathanLoiselle » Sun Jul 30, 2017 8:20 pm

Wait a second. My non-sequiters are obnoxious?
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