Discord Community Servers are Evolving
Community servers are changing massively on Discord with brand new amazing features like default and customizable channels, built in self roles, and so much more.
If you are in Discord Townhall, chances are you have come across the image attached below, this indicates some major changes in showcasing a community, which we will analyze one by one, today, in this article. Without any further ado, let's hop into it!
Server Icon, Banner, Status and Member Count
A major re-design.
We see how the icon will be shown just below the banner, which wraps around it. The invite has a bubble next to the settings icons, which looks very elegant and keeps the banner clean. Unlike the current design the server name is now out of the banner and so is the public tag. Apart from fixing the public tag, they also added a built-in server member counter. This will though put an end to some bots out there which are known only for counting members and displaying them as channel names.
Customization Opportunities
Pretty and minimal.
There is an additional section below the server name, the home button. Yes, it is no longer channel-like, it is now a proper button, aligned with 3 small buttons below it.
Channel Customisation
See what you care about.
Members are taken to a page that allows them to select the channels they wish to keep on their channel list when they click the first button on the 2nd row of the section. The un-selected channels have all been hidden and cannot be accessed by the user, unlike the voice channels which, even when hidden, can be accessed by the user by navigating to the bottommost portion of the server to see a wide call to action button that says "Show All". There is a drop-down button that reveals a list of assorted voice channels on the server when it is clicked.
As far as text channels are concerned, there is no such provision and to view a channel, one has to retrace the path of hiding them and then check the button next to the name of the channel to unhide it.
Alternatively, users may also follow an entire category of channels instead of a specific channel within a category, but if they wish to unfollow a specific channel within a category, they must first unfollow the entire category and then proceed to arrange the channels suitably.
A good tip is that you can hide a channel by right-clicking on it and selecting the option to remove the channel from the list. Similarly, you can un-hide all channels at once by going to the drop-down menu beside the server name
Role Customization
No more bots for autorole?
Upon clicking on this button, a neat page appears that allows members to select the roles they wish to add to their profile. This is a feature that might replace the self-role system of many bots. Up to this point, we have been using drop menus, buttons, or old reaction roles, but it looks like the game is about to change and this feature will be the pioneer.
Not only does the selected role remain highlighted for the user but also informs the user how many members have selected that role, with a small blurple notification that disappears shortly after it is displayed.
Because it's inbuilt, prior problems like bot downtimes or high ping are unlikely to occur anymore, and the whole setup is quite eye-candy.
Events
Unaltered and unchanged.
As far as I am aware, this is the only tab that does not change. It is unlikely that events will undergo a major overhaul since it's one of the features that came out later in the development cycle. The current format seems to be liked by most members.
Suggested Channels
Never miss a moment.
The purpose of this section is to suggest to users the channels they may enjoy being a part of. It informs them about pings from the hidden channels or even any new channel that has been added to the server
What a great idea, such a feature will increase the reach of channels as well as contribute to the exploration of members if it is implemented. It should be noted that this section is omittable because it can be crossed out and removed from the channel list altogether. There is a distinct divider separating this section from the general channel list, which marks the beginning of using dividers in channel lists as well, which is a great change in terms of grouping
Highlights
The whole story, at a glance.
Highlights are something that had already been discussed earlier, but this is an important aspect of evolution that shouldn't be overlooked.
This can work as a ping yet silent and pretty. On the channel list, there is a minimal light blue sparkle next to the name of the channel.
A Brand New Onboarding Experience
No more tagging to pick roles.
Wondering if any visible changes to the onboarding experience? Yes, tweaks have been made! I would like to emphasize a big change, which is the beautiful page that greets you when you enter the server, as well as the overall guide that takes you through the process of customizing your roles.
Overview
A personal Opinion.
As for my opinion, I think this is quite a good design for a community, but I think it will certainly take some time for it to be visible throughout Discord since it is still in beta testing and only a few servers have been allowed to test it.
Special Mentions
Rythm & Blues, one of the servers besides Discord Townhall to be selected to test the new community features. Most of the screenshots are extracted from the server.
That's all for today, I hope you enjoyed today's article. Make sure to join our official Discord server to discuss further on this topic or suggest new articles!
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