Multi for the masses

OVERVIEW

as someone who's used discord since it's release date, and has roleplayed almost exclusively there for nearly 5 years, i still see many people in the rpc who are very afraid to make the switch. i thought i'd make this little guide that can be referred to explaining why discord is a better option than tumblr for most people, especially as tumblr continues to descend deeper into hell. a majority of rpers are already familiar with it since it's a popular platform for communication and plotting but you can successfully run groups on discord as well.

EASE OF ACCESS + ORGANIZATION

discord is easily accessible via desktop on the web or on the desktop app, as well on phones and tablets. messages are easy to format on mobile and nearly all settings available on desktop are available on mobile. there's a dark and light mode, minimal bright colors, easy to navigate ui and various organization options for servers and channels.

servers, channels and categories can all be sorted to your liking. you can even sort members in a server via the roles and you can pick who has access to what channels and etc.

COMMUNICATION

many people already use discord for 1x1s and general messaging and plotting. it's easy to see who's online and who's not and that is even a setting you can change if you want to appear 'invisible' instead of online. it's super easy to shoot anyone a message quickly if needed, and just as easy to respond.

WHAT ABOUT GROUP RPS?

it's very possible to run entire group rps off of discord. there is many ways to do it but it's certainly easier in terms of needing a lot of graphics and content like you would for a blog/main.

you can ping/notify everyone within a server when making announcements. you can also mute servers for any set amount of time or more specifically mute certain categories or channels within a server.

you can manage members easily. kick or ban those who are acting inappropriately and limit access to certain channels.

mature replies can be placed under spoilers and still tagged accordingly. channels can even be private to certain members.

all members can write together in any thread. meaning threads with more than two people, which is great for events.

discord recently added a feature called THREADS which makes sub-channels that only appear in the channels list if they're active. when they're inactive they are archived but still able to be accessed and used again anytime, meaning no more servers with hundreds of channels.

assign moderators and helpers via roles.

store character/fc/mun lists, bios/blurbs, rules, locations, threads, texts, and ooc chats all within one server/hub.

there's also many many different server templates you can use for group rps where all the channels are labeled and already organized for you !!

WHAT ABOUT BOTS? WHAT ARE BOTS?

bots are useful ai 'users' for nearly anything you need in your server. there are bots for:

posting in character. ( TUPPERBOX )

making polls, calendars, scheduled events

assigning roles, pronouns, username colors

flipping coins, rolling dice, asking an 8ball for decision making

generating words, places, names

playing music

tracking word-counts and racing friends to see who can get a higher word count within a set amount of time ( WRITER-BOT )

BELOW. example of what an in character reply / message could look like using TUPPERBOX. you can change the icon and name to your liking and still use markups such as bold, italics, strike, underline and also discord specific ones such as highlight, code, and spoilers.

IT'S MORE ABOUT WRITING AND LESS ABOUT AESTHETICS.

you can use icons and gifs on discord just as you would on tumblr with your replies though most people opt to not and use a character bot instead such as TUPPERBOX. it depends on what you prefer. personally, i tend to worry a lot less about faceclaims and graphics when writing on discord which isn't a bad thing. the point of rp is to write and develop your characters and stories. so whether you are very into aesthetics or not, discord can sort of cater to everyone on that front.

THE CONS LIST

discord is great but it does come with a few cons like any platform.

the main con is the character limit of 2k. if you are writing very lengthy replies they will have to be sent in multiple messages unless you upgrade to discord's premium called NITRO. the character limit will then increase to 4k.

you'll need to upgrade to nitro as well if you want to customize your profile heavily or upload and share very large files. this isn't super relevant to writing but i figured i'd mention it anyways.