Many people have flocked to a chatting service app known as Discord. It first became popular among gamers to connect with their communities and friends. Over time, Discord has evolved to an app used by creatives like artists or writers and also corporations!

Even though the app has been out for awhile, there are people who don’t know how to use the platform. In this article, we are going to show you how to setup a Discord server, create roles, and give some handy tips!

Discord Setup

First, proceed to https://discord.com/download to get the program. It’s available on Windows, Android, iOS, Linux, and Mac.

You will have to fill out an email address, username, password, and a date of birth. Once you’ve done this, Discord will be opened up as a blank slate like this:

Click the ‘plus’ button on the left to create your own server. Then, type in a name for it like ‘My Server’. This can be changed later, if you so desire.

Once you have created a server, you can start creating channels for the type of community you want. For example, if you are a streamer, you might consider making spaces for subscribers, patreon supports, or stream chatter. Another would be setting up spaces for tabletop gaming like Dungeon and Dragons.

Discord Roles

You will now be in charge of everything like setting up rules, channel creation, and more! Because of the nature of the internet our first piece of advice is have a landing page with server rules! The reason for this suggestion is so that users aren’t inundated with trolls or bots. Before we get into details about curating a server, we must first have individual roles.

• Step one: Click on your server name at the top left of the app and select ‘Server Settings.’ Click the Roles tab on the left side of the screen.
• Step two: Press the plus button next to roles on the screen that appears. Give this role a name and a color.
• Step three: Under the color picker, scroll down to see user settings. Under the ‘everyone’ role, our advice would be to limit access to server permissions like kicking members or embedding links. These features are better suited for use by admins, moderators, or trusted users.
• Step four: After enabling user options, be sure to click ‘Save Changes’ which appears at the bottom of the screen!
• Step five: Be sure to have a minimum of three separate roles apart from the everyone role.
  • A moderator or admin role.
  • One for family members, close friends, or VIPs.
  • Regular supporters of your content or ‘verified’ users.

Suggested Discord Rules

We have a couple of suggested rules to use, but ultimately it is up to the server’s creator. Some people are fairly tolerant where others are not.

• One – No hate speech, racism, sexism, threats, religion, or botting.
• Two – Be civil and courteous to others in Discord.
• Three – We have a three strike rule. (Or a zero tolerance policy depending on what type of server you have set up.)
• Four: -Harassment of any kind (in private or in the server) should be reported to a moderator or admin.
• Five – Don’t self promote in any channel other than ones designed for it. That said, some streamers want to promote other content creators so, they may have a place set up for this purpose.
• Six – Keep conversation on topic to the channel provided.

Combatting Trolls and Bots

Having a landing place for new members to your server will help to keep the bots and trolls away. Even the suggested idea listed below will not eliminate bots, but it can reduce issues later on. What we are referring to here are trolls that scream in voice chats or users that will grief other players.

Our advice would be to invite a bot which will assign specific roles for you. (Otherwise you have to assign the roles manually.) The easiest bot to use is Mee6 which can automatically assign roles, post announcements, and gives a variety of moderation options. To use Mee6 in Discord, go to mee6.xyz and click ‘Add to Discord’ then choose your server. Select the tools you want to use and you’re good to go! Just keep in mind that some features might be listed under premium membership.

Other Thoughts About Discord

One of the features in Discord is the ability to use text to speech functionality. In practice, this feature is amazing for the hearing impaired. Unfortunately, there are people who would use this feature in a malicious way by making rude or harmful comments. If there are no restrictions put in place, valued community members might leave your server. Its use might be best by having an assigned role for those who require TTS functionality.

Server Admins can create channels that cater to topics like those that are not safe for work, political discussion, and mental health. While there is no way to ensure the age or maturity level of your community members, establishing clear guidelines can stop potential discord.

Keep your safety in mind because with great power comes great responsibility! Having your own public server can open your community up to possible threats. You can limit people from messaging you if you are not in the same servers together and you can enable 2FA. To do this, click the cog wheel next to your username in the bottom left. Under my account scroll down to enable 2FA. This will restrict hackers from accessing your Discord server that may contain personal information. And it is especially true if you are part of other servers where you have moderator or administrative powers.

Final Takeaways

Discord is an excellent platform that millions of gamers use on a daily basis. It is a place that allows users to connect with other like minded individuals and has a lot of benefits. Hopefully this article alleviates potential problems that prevented people from using.