About Discord

[lakes]

I use Signal and Whatsapp for people I know offline, which have both desktop and mobile apps. But they require a phone number & Whatsapp is owned by Meta   I don't know anyone who uses Signal among the people I know, haha. I've read things saying that it's good, but that it does require a phone number yeah...  

But oh my god, WhatsApp.. I must have my whole family on it. I had to create an account (I didn't really have a choice). I really didn't like the WhatsApp experience . I'm not a big fan of anything Meta owns... Honestly, I don't know how my whole family manages to stay on WhatsApp... I guess it's easy for them to access?

Yeah Whatsapp sucks. Signal is good, but not only do you need a phone number, but you need to install the mobile app 1st to use the desktop app.
I would have recommended Spacebar & its Fermi client, but they're still working out some bugs. Since it's like Discord but open source & without much toxicity so far.

[Daniele63]

Honestly, I love Discord, because there I found my first ever online friends. They had their own dramas n stuff of course, but after all they are my only friends and the only ones that actually understand me... Plus, I met my best friend on Discord, so I don't think I will leave it soon :c

This page is cool too, but it's kind of weird to login everyday here, honestly. I also want to have friends here, but unfortunately the only way I feel comfortable is with Discord, sorry for that :cI'm not telling anyone to stop using it, just use it in moderation like anything else (so not like me).

Update to this: I've decided to use schedules to limit my time on social media in general (this includes discord, this forum, my guestbook, and other stuff of that nature), to only around 2 hours in a certain period of the day. Outside of that, the websites are blocked automatically thanks to an extension called LeechBlock on Firefox. I've also started using Pomodoro timers for when I'm doing any kind of work (25/30 minutes work separated by 5 minutes breaks), instead of working for hours on end with no breaks until I finished my task (aka. ADHD hyperfocus).

I think a big problem with our modern lives is that we are always connected and reachable, we also have a over abundance of stimulation in the media we consume, all of those things were not a thing when we were younger (if you're of my generation anyways), which is probably why I felt happier when I was younger and less anxious. I also think that when something is limited to a certain period of time in the day, you start to value that time way more and enjoy the thing again. I think that applies to most things not just social media.

Think of it this way: Birthday cakes are special because we only have them once per year. But if we eat birthday cakes everyday, it doesn't feel special anymore when the birthday comes. It's the same thing when you over-consume something like a social media, if you do it all day everyday it doesn't make you happy anymore.

[Patachoo]

I'm not telling anyone to stop using it, just use it in moderation like anything else (so not like me).

Update to this: I've decided to use schedules to limit my time on social media in general (this includes discord, this forum, my guestbook, and other stuff of that nature), to only around 2 hours in a certain period of the day. Outside of that, the websites are blocked automatically thanks to an extension called LeechBlock on Firefox. I've also started using Pomodoro timers for when I'm doing any kind of work (25/30 minutes work separated by 5 minutes breaks), instead of working for hours on end with no breaks until I finished my task (aka. ADHD hyperfocus).

I think a big problem with our modern lives is that we are always connected and reachable, we also have a over abundance of stimulation in the media we consume, all of those things were not a thing when we were younger (if you're of my generation anyways), which is probably why I felt happier when I was younger and less anxious. I also think that when something is limited to a certain period of time in the day, you start to value that time way more and enjoy the thing again. I think that applies to most things not just social media.

Think of it this way: Birthday cakes are special because we only have them once per year. But if we eat birthday cakes everyday, it doesn't feel special anymore when the birthday comes. It's the same thing when you over-consume something like a social media, if you do it all day everyday it doesn't make you happy anymore.

Your new schedule is a good idea imo, hope it will help, but I think this is a good decision for your well being ! Breaks are important, even little ones, during my student years, I "forced" my ADHD friend to take breaks because she was capable to work hours without noticing she needed a break/was super tired ahah, so I'm happy you're decided to take breaks during your work And you're totally right about the abundance of media stimulation, we forget how to appreciate a media now

[Vaking Voda]

I use Signal and Whatsapp for people I know offline, which have both desktop and mobile apps. But they require a phone number & Whatsapp is owned by Meta   I don't know anyone who uses Signal among the people I know, haha. I've read things saying that it's good, but that it does require a phone number yeah...  

But oh my god, WhatsApp.. I must have my whole family on it. I had to create an account (I didn't really have a choice). I really didn't like the WhatsApp experience . I'm not a big fan of anything Meta owns... Honestly, I don't know how my whole family manages to stay on WhatsApp... I guess it's easy for them to access?

I think Signal is supposed to be a phone number kinda thing, as you can only use your Signal account on one phone at a time, like a SIM card. Yet, you can only use Signal on data/Wi-Fi… requiring a phone number if you're not on Wi-Fi.

But using Signal without a phone number would actually be cool/great, since probably a lot of people would want to use it without putting in their phone number, as you can identify people based off of a phone number.

[rnottelovesowls]

i said this in a discord server i’m in, and i’ll be reposting it here if that’s fine:

”if i can be brutally honest, discord sucks for finding information and help on things, and building lasting friendships
on a dedicated forums, the information is timeless and will never go away, unless the forum shuts down. you’ll never feel like you’re shouting into a void if you ask for help or share your passions
on discord, especially public servers, you have to compete with everyone sharing GIFs of “this will affect the trout population”. or political venting
i’m in a lot of servers, but never have i ever felt like i belonged in any of them. idk, it’s weird”

[solinus]

i just look for forums if i want to be part of a community.

What forums do you regularly visit? 

So far I only regularly participate in one other: forum.melonland.net

[rnottelovesowls]

i just look for forums if i want to be part of a community.

What forums do you regularly visit? 

So far I only regularly participate in one other: forum.melonland.net

aside from this one, i’m a regular on TV tropes. this website you linked looks fun, though! i’ll be sure to join the forums once they’re back up

[MetalJack98]

Discord has become an awful place tbh. Good for chatting with friends, barely, that's it. The only reason people still use Discord is because of its "convenience" that I genuinely don't see in it tbh. It's used for the same reason people use Windows over Linux.

[lakes]

Discord has become an awful place tbh. Good for chatting with friends, barely, that's it. The only reason people still use Discord is because of its "convenience" that I genuinely don't see in it tbh. It's used for the same reason people use Windows over Linux.

Yeah I think most of the reasons people use Windows over Linux have to do with convenience like being used to a certain piece of Windows-only software, or not having to worry about the anti-cheat in games or just not wanting to move to a new OS. (Granted I acknowledge some people are expected to use certain software for work.) I think the only thing modern Windows has over other operating systems is that it has a lot of mainstream compatible software & games (I'd say usability too but I'm including MacOS in this). I know a lot of people here like Windows 10. But switching to Linux Mint made me realize how bad it was for me. On Windows 10, my computer would crash a lot (my computer hasn't crashed again so far and it's been like 4 months). I'd also run into problems trying to customize the taskbar & icons, even if I miss my Open Shell Win7like full glass skin. 
To me, the last good version of Windows wasn't Windows 10 but Windows 7.
That's not to undermine other people's experiences with Windows 10. The crashes could have been a hardware issue, for example. Plus not everyone wants to theme their OS beyond simple flat design, or stuff like Open Shell and Retrobar are good enough for them and that's fine too.

[Daniele63]

Discord has become an awful place tbh. Good for chatting with friends, barely, that's it. The only reason people still use Discord is because of its "convenience" that I genuinely don't see in it tbh. It's used for the same reason people use Windows over Linux.Yeah I think most of the reasons people use Windows over Linux have to do with convenience like being used to a certain piece of Windows-only software, or not having to worry about the anti-cheat in games or just not wanting to move to a new OS. (Granted I acknowledge some people are expected to use certain software for work.) I think the only thing modern Windows has over other operating systems is that it has a lot of mainstream compatible software & games (I'd say usability too but I'm including MacOS in this). I know a lot of people here like Windows 10. But switching to Linux Mint made me realize how bad it was for me. On Windows 10, my computer would crash a lot (my computer hasn't crashed again so far and it's been like 4 months). I'd also run into problems trying to customize the taskbar & icons, even if I miss my Open Shell Win7like full glass skin. 
To me, the last good version of Windows wasn't Windows 10 but Windows 7.
That's not to undermine other people's experiences with Windows 10. The crashes could have been a hardware issue, for example. Plus not everyone wants to theme their OS beyond simple flat design, or stuff like Open Shell and Retrobar are good enough for them and that's fine too.

People use Windows because:

- Almost all software and games works with it, including obscure ones from the 90s, using compatibility tools, and as you said, anti-cheat works.

- Professional tools such as Adobe suite, photo editors, more video editors.

- Interface is easy to use and intuitive (no terminal commands needed).

Personally, I never had a crash on my current installation of Windows, but with so many hardware configurations available, there's bound to be one that crashes more often than another. For some people, Linux will crash more often than Windows, I guess it depends on your particular hardware. Also, it's possible you had corrupted your Windows installation, you mentioned trying to customize taskbar, maybe that's why.

Cons of Windows:

- Lack of data privacy compared to Linux (you can remediate this to a certain level).

- Less customization out of the box (but people customize it anyways).

- AI built-in (though you can disable/uninstall it).

- More bloat in general.

At the end of the day, to me it's just preference and also sometimes your needs that define what you use. Nobody should shame someone for using something else (I'm not saying you did, but generally people like to do that in those debates), I also find it curious that people seem to love Windows 10 now when I remember it being hated when it first launched, maybe people will miss Windows 11 when 12 comes out.