I had planned to trial this at Co:Apterous, with a view to a full launch thereafter, but given the current server downtime of the apto chat and game room, now seems a good time to put it out there. And so, with much further ado:
Hark! Discordterous!
Discordterous is a series of text and voice chat channels for all apterites to use either to supplement, or replace during downtime, apterous. In the main general channel you can have your aptochat. In smaller channels you can play games amongst each other. You could even set up small channels for a handful of you to play games amongst yourself - co:event style - when apto is down, provided you have a willing host and access to something like a board game or the incoherency website to pick letters and numbers and stuff.
Discordterous, as the name suggests, uses the program Discord, which you can download for free here or from your mobile app store. It's quite commonly used among proper gamers, who play proper games, so why not us apterites, who play apterous?!
Join the group by clicking here (if this link doesn't work then you're reading this in the future and the link has been changed. please shout at me to update the link).
Please join us and give this a go! Hopefully it will be a success
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Disclaimers/addenda:
- This might be a terrible idea. I have no idea if it will work. I might be opening padrona's box (see what I did there?), but there's only one way to find out. If it's abominable, please forgive me.
- While, like apterous, this will be a hugely free space for all speech, I envision things could get a bit tricky with communication channels here, especially with the voice channels and especially in Discordterous's infancy. Please everyone be considerate of one another and treat each other with respect and kindness.
- It's pure text and voice chat at the start but hopefully in time if it's a success we can add bots and stuff to help with the bash room, amongst other things.
- The primary purpose of Discordterous is to supplement apterous for likely a small proportion of its users (I don't envision any large amount of people using it, certainly at once) by helping to make it more social. It is not meant to supersede or replace any features of apterous in any way.
- I know some of you have done similar small private groups like this before. I make no claims to originality, but nor am I stepping on anyone's toes. Unlike smaller, private groups, this is open to everyone. Like apterous is.
- I will make people moderators and stuff as time goes on. Please do not view the initial lack of moderators as some sort of domineering power-grab on my behalf. It's just that this is a big project, I will likely move slowly on it, and all moderators will be very very carefully chosen. At any rate, I shall be a benevolent dictator/god to all you aptopeasantfolk so you have nothing to worry about.