I wasn't sure whether to put this in RP discussion or Off-Topic, but it sort of relates towards gming/roleplaying. A mod can move it if they don't feel the same way.

Anyways, there's been a long standing "debate" if you could call it, about whether discord is harmful to guild/guild traffic.

I'm the sort who believes discord is a "companion" for rpg, but of course there have been others who claim it is harmful to the site in general.

I'm going to address two arguments that people who are anti-discord generally state.

[b][i][u]Discord draws people away from the site, therefore it is bad![/u][/i][/b]

This statement, imo, has a sliver of truth, but only just a sliver. It did draw people away from the on-site chat, because, lets be honest, it was garbage compared to discord. It had basic functionalities and it's draw was really only to communicate to other people on the site through IM. Not to mention moderation hardly happened in the chat, further distancing people away from the on-site chat.

Discord just became more popular because it was simply a better alternative. You could make individual channels, have more than just basic functionality, and a better mobile interface. RPG has always had a problem with it's mobile version, because it's simply just bad. 

So yes, it did draw people "away" from the guild. But that statement is deceptive imo because people on the discord still go on here for their roleplaying needs.

Yes, they aren't using the OOC sections as much as they would have then. But IM is better for just idle conversation, without spamming the OOC with just "how are you guys doing" or "wassup". But people clearly still use the OOC for character sheets, etc. And of course they use the IC section because if we wanted to IM rp, rpers wouldn't be here to begin with.

Another reason why I believe this statement does not have merit is because many people use the discord to find people they like to rp with. And those who simply just use the discord never really had an incentive to go be active on the site. Some people just like the community, and discord makes it easier to just go in and have a friendly chat. Some people just got busy with rl, and it's easier to pop on discord than it is on the site (mostly because discord has a better mobile interface) It's more accessible compared to RPG.

[b][i][u]It just makes RPG a portal![/u][/i][/b] 

Well... sorry to break it to you, but rpg has always been a "portal". Even before the days of discord people had skype groups. Am I "taking" away the appeal of rpg if I invite some friends to go play some video games instead? No. If I go pursue biking, or go to the gym, I am merely doing other things. Same with going on discord. 

At it's purest form, RPG is just a site with "links" or "access" to different roleplays. 

People have lives and other hobbies to pursue. If anything, life commitments and other hobbies are the biggest "draw" away from RPG. RPG is just a medium for RPing. It's not the "one stop" website I think people are expecting it to be. 

Discord has only really replaced the on-site chat, which was just.. bad. It has not, however, replaced RPG's function as a post by play forum. If you actually went on discord, you can find plenty of GM's who have had channels dedicated to OOC talk for their rps. 

Discord is merely an "accessory" towards RPG in general.

I just don't get why RPG and Discord cannot co-exist. They do not replace one or the other. The furthest extent of "replacing" anything was the on site chat. (which was pretty light on activity compared to discord, and devoid of many features/moderation) The purpose of RPG is to have a platform for roleplaying, and Discord is to foster community interaction. 

I'd really like someone who is "Anti-Discord" to try and enlighten me on why they see discord as this big bad app that is doing harm to the site. if anything, I'd say it keeps the sense of community alive.