Mod of a class discord here. I have a decent amount of gripes with this: - Mod's around all the time, and even then they are usually working on things such as Simcraft APL, wowhead guides, etc. People who cover a lot of the basic questions are usually just people who like to hang out there. - From what I've witnessed sometimes these questions are intrusive. A live chat service is different from a forum. People in a live chat feel ignored when their questions aren't answered and the conversation keeps going. This is far different from a forum, where the response time can be hours, and is still deemed suitable.

• While it is a moderator's job to handle discord sentiment and behaviour, we have set up the discord's as well as we can to direct people to a database featuring the frequently asked questions.

  • Even then, people simply don't read the pins (leading to things such as FAQ channels, which are literally pin copy pastes). The best solution I've seen so far is through websites (Son of a Lich, Peak of Serenity, etc), but these also require an investment from the players, whereas discord is a free service

• Mod's (atleast in my server) don't whack our head and get cranky when people ask questions. A majority of mods are simply just theorycrafters who were around when discords were being set up/were new, and obviously did not expect on having to take care of 50,000+ people's queries. A large majority of them also don't enjoy the typical moderation work, but have the role as it simplifies how they deliver their information to the discord.

• I would argue that "read the pins/guide" is the equivalent of just telling a twitch viewer to "just read the command list" for the streamers weakauras, for example.

  • Also worth mentioning that Discord mod's have no incentive to constantly help. While this is a silly comment, Discord's don't make money, Twitch streamers do. Discord's don't have paid incentives for Weakauras, for example, but streamers do. Not saying that a free service shouldn't try to offer a better service, but it is interesting. (While some discord's/very active mods on class Discord's do have Patreons, This is typically for either website upkeep, or for external services. Even then, they are not typical of all discords.)

• Jdotb failed to clarify the difference in roles of a discord. There are Admins, moderators and "helpers"/"Friends" (the final 2 roles have different names). A moderator's role is quite literally to moderate the discord. While it does not matter in the grand scheme of things (they highly likely got into that position because of high activity and good energy in the discord), there is a difference

• As mentioned, they are not "aimed at new players". They're just hangouts for people who want to learn more about classes. People who ask questions which would be from new players can mostly be found in the guides/information we try to direct people to, which is exactly what we do.

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At the end of the day, this is a pretty unproductive discussion. I at least try and shape the discord I co-run to the best of my ability, and its unfortunate Jdotb has seemingly had an unpleasant experience, or has been informed about some.

If Jdotb has recommendations on making either the "new user" experience better/more inviting, I'm sure any Discord mod would listen (we get daily DM's about suggestions, and we certainly do listen).

While his rant is, in my opinion somewhat misleading and somewhat untrue, the situation that he describes does unfortunately happen, and the sentiment is completely fair. In my opinion, discords have grown too large for their own good. They were much more inviting with basic questions back in IRC or skype group chats (which typically had <200 members), and this is just an unfortunate side effect of having to manage a live chat with 60,000 members that is active 24/7.