Since the release of Discord in 2015, this app has taken the world by storm and as such, now has over 300 million users! Throughout these years, many, many questions have been asked, so we’ve decided to break down the most frequently asked questions with easy, concise answers.
What is Discord?
Discord is a free voice and text chat app that works online or on your phone. It’s for gamers and non-gamers alike, and it’s absolutely free! Discord allows you to create your own servers to host discussions about pretty much anything. While along the same vein as other voice and text chat programs such as Skype or Teamspeak, Discord splits itself from the pack by offering additional features to give users everything they need in one all-inclusive package.
What makes Discord stand out from the rest?
Like Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, Instagram, etc., Discord provides an interface to allow users to establish relationships by following each other’s profiles or staying up-to-date on their activity feeds. However, rather than focusing only on broadcast communication (i.e., content creation), it allows users to communicate directly through conversations, either privately between two people or within public or private servers and groups.
In addition, Discord also has a social gaming component similar to Steam, where you can ‘follow’ other gamers and get access to their social profiles, join servers with them, message them, etc. This takes the place of using a gamer’s ID on an online forum where it gets lost in the noise.
Discord is primarily designed for gamers who need an all-inclusive feature set that is competitive with other voice and text chat applications while offering additional features such as rich presence detection (avatars, images), file transfer capabilities (up to 8MB) between users and channels, groups of type “Servers” which are more like subreddits than traditional chatrooms, and text chat channels which allow for better communication when you need to type large volumes of information in short periods of time. Webhooks also enable users to quickly set up discord bots within their server without needing advanced coding skills.
How do I join Discord?
You can download the client or use the web-based client (it’s almost identical) from Discord’s official website.
What is a public channel?
A public channel is the main text chat area for any given server. You can think of it kind of like Reddit or Facebook, where everyone who has access to that server can contribute to the conversation in some capacity. Just like other social media platforms, you can filter out conversations through muting specific users(or keyword filters), star your favorite conversations and pin them at the top of the list so they don’t get buried, etc. All messages sent to this channel are publicly available even without an account, so anyone with access to this server can see what you posted by simply visiting this page.
How do I create a private channel?
Discord allows for the creation of channels with varying levels of privacy. You can create a ‘Server’ or group chat with up to 9 other people, where you have privileges such as being able to name your server, add people from other servers, etc. Text and voice channels only allow messages sent directly between two users rather than everyone who has access to that particular server. To create a new channel, start by clicking on “+” next to “Text Channels” and then type in a name for your new channel and click “Create Channel.” Next, type in usernames (one per line), click “+Add” when finished, and click “OK.”
How do I join a voice channel?
In addition to text-based channels, Discord also offers voice-based channels that allow for direct real-time one-on-one or group communication through the use of a microphone device. To create a new channel, start by clicking on “+” under “Voice Channels” and then type in a name for your channel and click “Create Channel.” Then speak into your microphone and click either “Listen” or “Talk,” depending on whether you want people to be able to hear you when you are speaking or only when you press the button. If you want other people to be able to communicate with each other and yourself simultaneously, consider creating one channel per user so that everyone can speak.
What if I don’t want to talk?
If you do not have a microphone and do not wish to speak over voice chat, simply click “Mute Voice & Text” on the top of your screen. This will prevent them from speaking through their microphone, but they will still be able to hear what others are saying. Be aware that muting people, for this reason, does not stop them from seeing what you type.
How do I deactivate my account?
You can deactivate your account by scrolling to the bottom of this page under “ACCOUNT” and clicking the button that says “Delete My Account.” Once you click this, you will be redirected to a page asking if you are sure about your decision (a process that cannot be reversed). Once confirmed, your account will delete instantly or within minutes, depending on the server load. If this does not work, feel free to contact the Discord support team.
How long is my username active?
Your username is permanent and will never expire unless manually deleted or changed.
What happens when I delete my account?
When you delete your account, any information stored on Discord’s servers regarding your username, avatar, e-mail address, e-mail personalization settings and anything else linked specifically to your account will be deleted permanently from their database.
Why should I enable Two-factor Authentication?
Two-factor authentication prevents unauthorized access to your Discord account by requiring a two-step verification every time you log in. You must verify both your password and an additional code which is either received as a text message or generated by the Google Authenticator app. Without this extra step, Discord cannot guarantee that it’s really you trying to log in and not someone else who managed to get hold of your password.
Why should I limit my number of connections?
In an effort to prevent spam bots from joining your server, it is best practice not to have a massive number of connections at once. This should be a minor inconvenience as you can quickly rejoin each time you restart Discord.
Why did my messages get deleted?
If messages get deleted from a channel, it’s usually because: The messages were spam (this is not permanent, they will usually return within an hour) or that someone removed them.
