A couple of days ago we announced that we're planning to launch a Discord Channel so that our donors have a dedicated safe space to engage in conversation about the information we share, what you’re still trying to understand about that information, and how we can work together to utilize what we’re learning to make powerful change in our community.
After sending that email I received a number of questions from you, our members, about what exactly that means. I'm excited there's so much interest because I'm hopeful this new project will be a source of strength, connection and hope not only for you, but for me and our Scout team.
What’s Discord?
Discord is an app where people can gather in private communities to share conversations. To get involved you’ll just need to download the app on your phone and/or computer and make an account – it takes less than ten minutes. You can set up your notifications to work for you so that you see the conversations from our community that you want to, when you want to.
Why Discord?
We’ve considered a lot of ways to facilitate more Scout community conversations. While we’ve considered using website comments and social media comments, both have serious limitations that don’t meet our community needs. On Discord we can keep a variety of conversations going, not just your thoughts on our latest article but also threads dedicated to information you want us or others to know. We can limit membership to donors (no matter how small the amount you give) and we can moderate carefully to ensure open communication that’s still safe, and more private. We can also open channels under our server to support related community networking, where other groups with shared interests can post and discuss.
Who Can Join In?
We’re launching this as a member-only benefit for two reasons. To help drive our sustainability moving forward by providing incentives to give monthly, and because making this member-only will increase the likelihood that conversations will be occurring between people who are committed to a broadly shared vision of community change that includes the news.
I'll be in touch with more information once we're ready to launch the channel, but for now, just know I'm very much looking forward to more community conversations. You all are what makes this work worthwhile. It’s the opportunities to meet you in person or online, answer your questions, hear your tough feedback, and receive your encouragement that keep me going each day.
