GURPS Discord Server is up and running!

[JMD]

Mook started up a GURPS discord. I'm on it all day everyday. Come help make it a success. https://discord.gg/vk5GtQy

The forums are great for long discussions and lost of Q&A, but this discord could really help fill the void of *immediate* chat that we seem to lack, allowing us to grow closer as a community and maybe even schedule play over voice!

One thing at a time. Come join in, fill the discord with warm bodies, and then we'll make it happen. We're gonna GURPS the hell out of this discord guys, so come on in.

[mook]

Originally Posted by JMD

We're gonna GURPS the hell out of this discord guys, so come on in.

I love when "GURPS" is used as a verb.

[Phantasm]

As someone who has Incompetence (Social Media) and/or Incompetence (Current Affairs), I have to ask this: what is 'discord' beyond the traditional definition of the word?

[Joe]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

As someone who has Incompetence (Social Media) and/or Incompetence (Current Affairs), I have to ask this: what is 'discord' beyond the traditional definition of the word?

Ditto this. What, exactly, is 'discord', and what does it do? I'm 100% behind any attempt to GURPS the hell out of anything (but I also want to know what I' signing up for before signing up!)

[Ptaloth]

Discord is a voice chat like teamspeak.

[Myrion]

It's a cross between text and voice chat programs and currently very "in".

[robkelk]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

As someone who has Incompetence (Social Media) and/or Incompetence (Current Affairs), I have to ask this: what is 'discord' beyond the traditional definition of the word?

It's what angels and demons have instead of disadvantages in In Nomine and GURPS In Nomine. However, that might not apply in this context.

[ericthered]

I've recently started using discord to run my over-the-internet game.

Its a text chat mixed with a voice chat. We use it because its been more reliable and more system agnostic than google chat, skype, and roll20.

I'm sure there is more you can do with it, but we just started using it and I'm not one of the discord gurus of the group.

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Ptaloth

Discord is a voice chat like teamspeak.

Of if that doesn't ring any bells, it's a VoIP client, something like Skype. It's aimed at (computer) gamers, as such things are commonly used to play team games like Team Fortress, Overwatch, other multiplayer FPS, or MMOs like World of Warcraft. So it mostly sits in the background and does voice. Other programs in the category include TeamSpeak, Ventrilo, Mumble, and RaidCall. Which one you use is mostly a matter of social convention of the community in question.

Discord (and others) also have text chat functions if you want to type at people. The main advantage of the text chat is that it's persistent, remaining on the server after you log off, so you can leave notes for people. Also it's good for posting links to things on the Web, so you don't have to recite the URL over voice and scribble it down ("that's aitch tee tee pee ess colon slash slash..."). However, it's not meant to be primarily a text platform, so it lacks many features common in web forum software. It's not that kind of persistent text comms.

Discord also has a web-only version, so you don't need to download a client. The web version does have a few limitations -- for instance, it lacks the "Push To Talk (PTT)" feature, and also seems not to work if the web browser isn't focussed (because, say, you've alt-tabbed to your FPS game). But it does mean you don't have to download or update anything if you just want to chat, and not all programs will interfere with it.

Discord and its competitors generally have "servers", which act as ways to limit the conversation to particular groups of people. You'd have a server for your GURPS game, or general GURPS chat, or your WoW raid, or whatever, perhaps many of them. People join the servers, perhaps invitation-only, and within servers there are usually "channels" to have multiple conversations going at once. Everybody in the same channel can talk and hear each other; people in other channels or connected to other servers cannot.

https://discordapp.com/

[JMD]

Hi everyone!

Thanks for posting your interest in our discord server!

To answer some of the questions, discord is a combination voice and IRC client. It is very extensible and has many bots to help make moderation, gaming, and social interactions easier. Our goal with this new server is to fill the void of a GURPS chat where none currently exists. I oftentimes wish I could just chat about GURPS or gaming in general with you fine folks, but the forums are a bit too formal for random chatter back and forth, and the threads are pretty heavily structured on single topics. While this is great for a forums-like atmosphere, it does leave something to be desired.

That's where this discord comes in!

On this new server we're hoping to have random chatter galore, as well as share lots of loosy-goosey, wibbly-wobbly character/monster builds, and even schedule one-shots and maybe someday reoccurring campaigns. It would also be a great place to share one-off adventure hooks, critique puzzles, and get some help with your map designs. :)

Come join us! We've got big plans, but need the community's creativity and good vibes to make it happen.

Thanks!