Discord is a very popular VoIP and messaging service. Although it is known above all in the circles related to video games, nowadays it is possible to find servers of almost any subject, including, for example, programming.
Despite its clear leadership within its segment, Discord is not sleeping and is adding new features that expand its possibilities. The most recent is a new forum-like channel format reminiscent of Redditone of the most popular social networking services.
Discord has described the forum channels it just implemented as “a place designed for focused discussions, not just free chat”. Members of a server can browse these channels in search of content that interests them or create new topics. As with text and voice channels, server owners and moderators will be able to create a forum channel, which will be distinguished from the other two types with its own icon.
Channel in Discord forum format.
After the user has clicked on the corresponding forum channel icon on the Discord server they are connected to, they will be able to see a list of threads on a given topic. This should of improve in aspects such as organization to give more margin to those people who cannot follow the activity in real time. The forums feature implemented in Discord is now available on the desktop and mobile apps. Knowing that the desktop application is built with Electron, it should also be present through a web browser.
The introduction of forum channels has been almost a matter of necessity for Discord, especially seeing that its popularity has possibly overwhelmed even those responsible for the service. Supporting a large number of users is something that is solved with better infrastructure, but when a server can host hundreds of thousands of active people at the same time, the chat channels can end up accumulating a large amount of material that is difficult to follow.
In short, the forums they are an opportunity to bring order where there is none. Seeing that some servers have hundreds of thousands of active users at the same time, surely those who are more saturated will end up thanking the incorporation of this feature.
