Should we have a Wikiversity specific discord server?

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Discord is a collaborative platform that gives communities the space to communicate with each other via voice calls, video chats, platformed stage presentations etc etc. So would it be a useful tool to encourage communication and bring fresh editors to The WMF?

We should use a Discord server

Relevant details, definitions and assumptions regarding the first possibility.

Pro

• Pro The use of a discord server would widely increase communication between editors on everything that Wikiversity has to offer.
  • Objection Talk pages are the proper venue for content- and policy-related discourse.

• Pro The use of a platform like discord would be a good way to train younger editors to start learning how to access the resources that Wikiversity offers. A place for younger editors to talk through the learning curves of this website would also give this older corner of the internet a very eager group of scholars to do all the tedious grunt-work the upkeep of this kind of place requires.
  • Objection A new group of youths might be more trouble than it's work and create more problems with clutter instead of cleaning it up.

Con

• Con Using a platform outside of Wikiversity discussion boards or email to communicate would be unprofessional and confusing.
  • Objection The point of the Wikimedia foundation is to be an accessible, free springboard of information that anyone can use. Using a well moderated alternative mode of communication could be a good place to ease newcomers into the learning curve of contributing to the Wikimedia Foundations sister projects.
    • Objection Don't you think that the use of an external link would make navigating Wikimedia projects more confusing?
      • Objection Wikiversity uses external links all the time, whether it's to keep their projects well sourced or for google form interviews to see if someone is worth promoting to higher editor levels.
• Con Discord is proprietary VoIP software, which raises concerns about privacy, surveillance and in general the abuse of whatever data they collect. Its use should be discouraged on this basis. One must wonder what they have to gain from offering VoIP as a "free" service. In some sense, it's a "dishonest" transaction between the average user and the people offering this service. The average user does not understand the value of data and simply believes they're getting something for free.
• Con An off-wiki communication room creates a separate locus of power, wielded by those who would rather hang around and chat than do real serious wiki work. That is a bad thing.
• Con An IRC server with public logs would be a better, open-source alternative. Discourse is a "gated community", its servers are not managed by users.

See Also

• Wikiversity:Discord