Forum:Creating a Tardis Wiki Discord server

Opening Post
This is something I've been meaning to start a discussion on for a while. Pretty much, I think that it would benefit Tardis to have a. For those that aren't familiar, is a (primarily) text-based instant messaging service. Its main draw is how each community is comprised of a "server" which can be formed of multiple text "channels". This means that there can be multiple segregated discussion spaces in the same community. For an example of how this works, see this screenshot of the channels list from the Fandom Discord server: As you can see, there is a "general" channel which allows for discussion on anything related to Fandom. There are then more specific channels, such as "mediawiki-upgrade", "mobile-css-editing" or "feedback-fandom", for specific topics. This allows multiple conversations to flow without disrupting each other. It also allows people with narrower interests to only follow conversations that they're really interested in while ignoring channels they have less interest in.

Discord servers have become very popular as a supplement to on-wiki communication. They allow for faster discussions, allowing small issues to get resolved more quickly. They don't replace forums or talk pages: they're still very helpful for larger discussions and keeping a public record. Here are some examples:
 * a group of like-minded editors could discuss a potential policy change on Discord together before formally presenting it in a forum thread
 * issues with templates could be brought to the relevant editor's attention much faster than a talk page would allow (this already happens a lot: if anyone notices any small technical issues, you're always free to message me through any of my public social medias, primarily Discord, for me to fix it quickly. A proper Discord server would help to centralise this process)
 * editors who just want to discuss Doctor Who, not how it relates to the wiki, could do that via Discord in a separate channel for non-wiki matters
 * editors could use the server to work together on articles more easily than a talk page would allow

Tardis is probably one of the last wiki's of its size to not have a Discord server. Prominent wikis, both on and off Fandom, with Discord servers include: And many others from wikis that I'm less familiar with.
 * Wookieepedia
 * Marvel Database
 * Encyclopedia Spongebobia
 * Halopedia
 * Halopedia

Now there's the question of how to actually implement a Discord server ourselves. Firstly, I think that all active wiki admins who wish to use Discord should be given admin permissions on Discord. If we can trust them to manage the wiki, we can trust them to manage the Discord. Secondly, I think that all editors should undergo a verification process, such as the one provided by Wiki-Bot (for those not familiar, a "bot" is an automated user able to provide certain automated functions, in this case related to wikis), before being able to gain access to the majority of the server (for those not familiar, Discord has a permissions system where different users can be given access to different channels, a process that can be connected to verification). Thirdly, we need to decide on what channels we have. This can, of course, change later on, but I was thinking something like this, at least to start off (note that channels can be sorted into categories which I have done here): Fourthly, we need to decide how this all relates to the forums. I think we should have as policy that discussions via Discord cannot affect sitewide policy: they cannot overrule forum discussions or relevant talk pages and they can't create new policy. Fifthly, I feel that policies such as T:SPOIL and T:NPA should, by and large, carry across.
 * Meta
 * announcements
 * info
 * verification
 * On-topic
 * wiki-general
 * wiki-spoilers
 * editing-help
 * templates-&-technical
 * Off-topic
 * doctor-who
 * spoilers
 * other-wikis

Finally, Discord does require signing up for an account. This is free, and can be done (on a computer) via the website without downloading anything. You don't have to use your real email if you don't want to (although that is kept private). However, if accessing Discord is a major issue for anyone, we can look into setting up an IRC bridge or something. Bongo50  ☎  21:07, 5 November 2023 (UTC)

Discussion
I'm in full support of this idea. Cousin Ettolrahc ☎  21:24, 5 November 2023 (UTC)


 * editors who just want to discuss Doctor Who, not how it relates to the wiki, could do that via Discord in a separate channel for non-wiki matters
 * This is basically Discussions but all right.
 * Pretty much in support of this, but the only thing I worry about is privacy and potentially people not realising various things about privacy matters, or feeling pressured to join when they don't actually want to because of various issues. My big thing is that this oughtn't to be something that people feel pressured into joining or something that they feel that they need to do. It should be an optional extra on top of what we have, as Discord allows significantly less privacy than Fandom.
 * But apart from that, sounds good. Aquanafrahudy   📢   🖊️  21:34, 5 November 2023 (UTC)