Discord Is the Voice Chat App I’ve Always Wanted
Discord is new to chat, but it made a big splash. The app provides voice and text chat for groups with a focus on games. However, he is so cute that I have already started using him for everyday communication.
If you’ve ever used Slack , Discord will sound familiar to you. It builds on some of the ideas that Slack uses that people like, such as organized channels and built-in text commands, and simple group voice chat. Of course, you don’t have to play with it – I just use it to chat with a group of friends, not something like Skype or Facebook Messenger – but it has a few features that are useful while playing. Here’s an overview of the main features that Discord has to offer:
- There are apps for all major platforms, as well as for the browser. Discord is available for Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS. If you don’t want to install it, you can also use the web client . All apps have the same design and almost the same functionality.
- The interface is beautiful and simple. Some voice chat apps, like Ventrilo, sacrifice an intuitive interface for advanced features that most users don’t really need. Discord doesn’t. It has a sleek design that even the most casual user can quickly grasp and understand. This can make a big difference when you are trying to set everyone up for a game night.
- Setting up a server is easy. Setting up servers for Ventrilo and TeamSpeak is difficult . You need to install the server software on your own hardware and distribute the server information to users so that they can log in. In Discord, server setup is done in two clicks. The downside is that you cannot run servers on your computer, so if Discord crashes, the same will happen with your chat. However, if that doesn’t matter to you, this method is much easier. You can also invite friends to the server with a link that automatically expires after a short time.
- Text feeds and voice chat give you the best of both worlds. Discord comes with Slack-style text channels that users can switch to, as well as Ventrilo-style voice channels so that different groups can play together on the same server. Most apps do only one of these two functions well, but Discord does both with ease. Waiting for a text channel while talking in a group voice chat in one application is a pleasure for anyone who has had to manage multiple IRC and Vent windows.
- It’s free. Discord does not charge a fee for anything at this time. The help page on the site states that they ultimately plan to charge fees for “extra cosmetic items like sticker sets, sound packs, skins, and the like!” Time will tell if this plan works, but for now, the company is a startup offering a free product that works really well. You can also use this!
More than anything, Discord solves a lot of minor annoyances that make using other apps unbearable. You don’t need to install the app if you don’t want to. You can log into the server using a simple link instead of passing complex server and password information. Plus it looks better than most alternatives.
Setting up a server is insanely simple
One of the best things about Discord is how easy it is to set up a new server. To demonstrate this, here’s the entire process I went through to create a Discord Lifehacker server:
Click this button …
… then this …
… then name it and you’re done.
That’s all. Do not install server software. No need to mess with connectors or ports. The screenshots took longer than the server itself. Once your server is set up, a large “Invite Members” button will appear on the right side of the app. Click on it and Discord will generate a self-destructing link that you can use to add new members for the next half hour.
You can also customize invite links to limit who can enter. You can change the expiration timer to any value between 30 minutes and the day after it was created (or never, if you like). It is also possible to limit the link to a certain number of uses, up to 100. If you only want to invite someone as a guest, you can give them an invitation that will automatically expire and load the user after they disconnect from the server. first time
Voice channels are powerful and easy to use
Voice chat is the main event on Discord, and the app does it incredibly well. When you first create your server, you will be in the default shared channel. You can create as many channels as you need for different tasks. For example, on my game server, I have a separate channel for Overwatch , World of Warcraft , and also an AFK channel. Discord also provides server admins with a ton of useful management features:
- Create “roles” for different users to manage your community: you can create your own roles for entire groups of users. For example, you can create an admin category for users who can exclude or block users, manage channels, and even mute other members. Then you can create a lower category of mods for users who simply have the ability to kick or ban the hooligan users. Server owners can even customize different color schemes depending on the permissions the user has. You can read more about managing Discord roles here .
- Set up auto-AFK channels: It is annoying when someone leaves the computer and leaves the microphone on. Server administrators can configure the default AFK channel to always mute the microphones. They can then automatically upload any inactive users to that channel if they have been idle for too long.
- Require verification for new users: Server administrators can require new users to meet certain verification standards before they are allowed to send messages to people or use channels. There is no verification by default, but you can require users to have a verified email address on Discord and optionally be registered with Discord or a server for 5 or 10 minutes. This can be useful to reduce spam or harassment of users. You can read more about verification levels here .
Discord lets you choose between push-to-talk modes or voice-activated for audio chat. If you choose the voice activation mode, you can additionally configure what volume level the application should detect before it transmits your voice. In my experience, it only took a few seconds to install, but it worked flawlessly after that.
Text channels offer image sharing, forward slash commands, and more
If you’ve ever used Slack or IRC for group chat, Discord will sound pretty familiar to you. You can create channels in [#channelname] format and join them. You can upload images directly to Discord to share with everyone in the channel and search for emojis right next to the chat window. You can even use some forward slash commands like / me.
Discord doesn’t have as many bells and whistles as Slack or IRC, but the commands it does are awesome. Here are a few of them:
- / giphy and / riffsy: Both of these commands let you search a wide archive of animated GIFs and insert them directly into your chats.
- / tts: This command reads your next message out loud to the channel. This can be very useful if your group is participating in voice chat in a game or other application and your microphone is not working.
- / tableflip , / unflip and / shrug : Sure, you probably added these emojis to your text expander many years ago , but if you didn’t, these commands are very useful.
Most of the slash commands are for fun only, but they help flesh out an already powerful chat app. Discord is primarily intended for voice chat, so text channels can be easily neglected. Fortunately, this is not the case.
Discord combines the best elements of Skype, IRC and Slack
Over the years, the best way for PC gamers to participate in group voice chats has been Ventrilo or TeamSpeak. Now I am afraid to return to these applications. Discord does many of the same things, but with less hassle and the added benefit of a built-in robust chat app. It’s easier to set up than Slack and more intuitive than Skype for large group chats.
Discord is not the perfect app for every situation. Its strong focus on gaming means it may not have the advanced features that, say, a business might need for conferencing. However, if you’ve ever wrestled with an annoying chat system while trying to get a group to talk on your PC, Discord is a breath of fresh air.