"Now is the time to move off Discord"
There is *literally zero* decent alternative right now.
All the options we have at the moment are either:
vibecoded/ai-generated slop
and/or missing core/essential features
Also, are we forgetting that Discord is not going to require age verification to use 99% of the platform.
You will only need to age verify if:
You try to access NSFW/age-restricted Servers/Channels/Commands
You try to view images/videos hit by Discord's CSAM filter for attachments
You try to become a Speaker on a Stage Channel (which I bet most friend/smaller servers don't even use)
You try to disable Message Requests (a filter for DMs from unknown people)
Literally every single other one of Discord's hundreds of features, including logging into your account, does NOT require age verification.
Meaning, unless you're in the small percentage of people who try to do one of the 4 restricted things, you will not have to age-verify.
And even if you do, Discord is at least *trying* to keep *some* privacy in place. They distanced themselves from Persona *very* quickly, and their face scan method is required to be on-device only and not sent or stored anywhere. (Dataminers have verified it works like that too)
AND Discord is *trying* to be transparent about how it all works now too. Just look at their support articles and most recent Safety Transparency Report.
Furthermore, I bet Discord isn't keen on doing this too, but they're kinda forced to by stupid anti-human governments who don't know how to keep their heads out of their asses, and so-called journalism that keeps trying to villainise Discord when the problems are beyond Discord's control -glares at shitty parenting-.
"But what about countries that don't have laws enforcing this?"
Discord's probably wanting to get ahead so they don't get preemptively blocked by governments who are actively planning on passing dumb age verification laws soon. (-looks at the EU and some US States-)
Sure, Discord is responsible for some things, like their customer support being shit. However, Discord is not and should never be a replacement for actual parenting of children. Parents are the first line of defense. Not companies.
As a final note: You do also realise that if your Discord alternatives want to not be blocked by governments too, they'll also have to either add age verification as well, or fully ban any 18+ discussions from their platform. Like this isn't just a Discord-only issue lol.
And what about VRChat doubling-down on using Persona? Or everything about how Roblox is doing age verification? Or are we conveniently ignoring the people worse than Discord just to satisfy your confirmation bias?
Sorry for this rant. I'm just annoyed when y'all are pointing fingers at the wrong people.
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