Wikipedia

Wikipedia:Discord

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Oshwah (talk | contribs) at 11:12, 12 October 2020 (→Guidelines: +space). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Discord is a no-cost proprietary chat application available for PC and mobile platforms. A Discord server contains both text and voice channels used for real-time discussions and to share other forms of media between the members of that server.

In 2016, an unofficial Wikimedia Discord server was setup for Wikipedians who were already using Discord at the time. This Discord server is moderated by several English Wikipedia administrators. Conduct is expected to follow the IRC conduct rules. The server requires accounts to have a verified email in order to chat. Channels exist for several WikiProjects, as well as several general topic channels.

The server can be reached through an invite link by clicking the button below:

Join Server

See also: WP:IRCADMIN

The Wikimedia Community Discord is not owned or controlled by the Wikimedia Foundation. It is a project run by volunteers of their own accord. The server was set up by users of Wikipedia as a place for Wikipedians who already used Discord or prefer it to using IRC to chat and share information. They are casual, and users should be aware that conversations held in Discord may be read by anyone who joins the server.

Guidelines

First and foremost, the server is for discussions relevant to Wikipedia and related projects. Each channel has a general topic to follow, such as #english-wikipedia focusing on English Wikipedia, and #commons focusing on Commons. Wikimedia supports free speech but some statements can be disruptive and are usually inappropriate in channels. The channel #offtopic exists for discussions that are not solely focused on project work.

Keep in mind the public nature of Discord and the fact that the chat history is available to anyone that joins. Critiques of other users should be discussed in private message with them if possible, rather than risking publicly embarrassing them. Try to put yourself in their position to see whether or not what you say may offend.

General behaviours to avoid:

  1. Insulting others or swearing excessively.
  2. Canvassing for votes in WP:RFA, WP:AFD, WP:DRV, etc., or for article nominations or reviews.
  3. Organising, engaging in, or advocating harassment of others - whoever they may be.
  4. "Outing" others by publishing personal information about them or linking to sites or repositories that do, or otherwise extensively discussing private matters or subjects unrelated to Wikipedia.
  5. Making graphic descriptions, solicitations, or promotions of sexuality, violence, or illegal drugs. "Not Safe for Work" content in general should be considered off limits. If you have doubts, ask a moderator privately.
  6. Spamming links or the same phrases repeatedly, either all at once or over time.
  7. Operating bots that send messages or are operated through typing in the channel without the explicit permission of the moderators.
  8. Using nicknames that mislead or confuse others about who you are. Nicknames are a form of expression, but it should be clear to chatters who you are at all times, such as suffixing your normal name in parenthesis.
  9. Posting large gifs or memes with no context or relation to the discussion purpose of a channel.
  10. Excessively pinging moderators or admins for non-critical issues, either as a group or individuals. Please be considerate of alerting individuals of issues that aren't emergencies as they may be sleeping, at work, etc.
  11. Anything that may violate the Discord Guidelines or Terms of Service. Users who cross this line may be removed without any warning, depending on the severity. Keep in mind that while Wikipedia and Commons and the like are "NOTCENSORED", this is not the case for Discord, whose own Guidelines and Terms of Service take precedence. Many topics should not be linked or embedded, such as "not safe for work" content or piracy, and should be avoided. The Discord Guidelines can be read here. The Discord Terms of Service are here.

These guidelines are not exhaustive. Please use common sense when using the server. Moderators may use their discretion to remove users from the server for any reason.

Usage

Discord is free-to-download on Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android and can be used in most Internet Browsers without downloading. The server is joined by utilizing the invitation link above. Once joined, the user can simply return to the Discord site, or open the client of their choice.

Text chat

Discord provides text channels that users can use to communicate through typing. These channels support various forms of markup and embedding, such as showing thumbnails for pictures, syntax highlighting for code fragments, or simply display emotes. Most of these features, such as embedding, can be disabled in the user preferences.

A key difference between Discord and IRC is that the former provides a back log of chat. This can be handy for jumping into already-in-progress conversations, but also means that anything said is recorded in the history. Users should be aware that because only a few users are online at a given time, does not mean users who log in later will not see their message. However unlike IRC, users can ask questions in a channel and get an answer hours or days later from another user.

Unlike IRC, Discord does not show IP or hostname for users as they join servers and channels. As such, there is no host masking or cloaks to be setup.

Voice chat

Voice channels are also available, allowing users to communicate directly through voice. Users can rely on push-to-talk, where they must press a key while speaking, or voice detection, which will automatically broadcast when the user speaks. Users should be aware that anyone in the same channel will hear them. Voice channels have no specific assigned topics, unlike text channels. Users who have been inactive for 15 minutes are automatically moved to an AFK channel and muted.

Voice channels are not active unless the user specifically joins one. They are purely optional and have no impact on ability to use text channels.

Authentication

You can authenticate in Discord to your on-wiki user name. Follow the instructions provided by WikiAuthBot when you join. Authentication provides the "Confirmed Users" role, which allows us to know who you are onwiki (and is sometimes used for anti-raid/spam measures). You are not required to authenticate.

Pronouns

Some users put their pronouns in their nickname. This is done for reasons similar to those listed here, and helps prevent the corrective cycle of using the incorrect pronouns for another user. You are not required to put your pronouns in your nickname.

Channels

Channels currently exist for the following topics or sites. New channels for other Wikimedia sites can be created on request by members of those projects, though they will need to ensure their project or site is aware of the channel by posting the information locally on that project or site.

  • #info – A read-only channel with notices such as basic rules and a link back to this document. Users are advise not to mute this channel as any changes or updates to rules will be posted here.
  • #wikiauthlog – A read-only channel that reports when a user has authenticated with WikiAuthBot
  • #botcommands – A channel for running bot commands, such as WikiAuthBot's .whois

Discussion channels

  • #administration – A private channel for Discord moderators, administrators and stewards for discussion of issues related to moderation of the server
  • #logger – A private channel for moderators, administrators and stewards where a bot posts server alerts such as joins, leaves, message edits and message deletes. This exists purely for the benefit of server moderation and short comings in Discord's audit log.
  • #general – A general channel for any topic related to Wikimedia.
  • #technical – For technical topics, including Mediawiki, Lua, templates, edit filters, AWB, etc.
  • #offtopic – A channel for off-topic discussions. You can mute this channel if you desire.

Site channels

  • #english-wikipedia – For topics specific to English Wikipedia
  • #commons – For topics specific to Commons. Notice: In this channel, WikiBot replies with links to Commons, not English Wikipedia.
  • #meta – Topics including Metawiki, global Wikimedia, Stewards or crosswiki issues. Notice: In this channel, WikiBot replies with links to Meta, not English Wikipedia.
  • #wikidata – Discussions about Wikidata. Notice: In this channel, WikiBot replies with links to Wikidata, not English Wikipedia.
  • #simple-english-wikipedia – For topics specific to the Simple English Wikipedia and Wiktionary

English WikiProject channels

Channels currently exist for the following English WikiProjects:

New channels can be created on request by WikiProject members, once it has been discussed by that project and the members show interest.

Wikimedia Affiliates

Channels currently exist for the following Wikimedia Affiliates:

Feed channels

This channels are read-only feeds, dependent on WikiBot. They are semi-experimental at this time.

  • #enwiki-new-page-feed – New page feed from mainspace. Patrolled edits are excluded.
  • #enwiki-new-page-feed-large – New page feed from mainspace, only articles greater than 2500 bytes. Patrolled edits are excluded.

Server bots

The server currently has three bots that help in various ways.

  • Logger – Responsible for the #logger channel mentioned above. Records various server alerts for server moderation purposes.
  • WikiAuthBot – Responsible for assisting users with identifying their Wikipedia name and marking them as a Confirmed User. In any channel, post the message .auth and the bot will private message you with instructions. You must be able to receive messages for this to work. This relies on OAuth.
  • WikiBot – Responsible for adding helpful links when users post Wikilink and Template syntax. For example, if you post [[WP:Discord]], WikiBot will reply with an actual link to the page. WikiBot is also responsible for the new page feed channel.

Group notifications

Notification methods are currently setup to allow for alerting certain user groups that there is an important issue on Wiki that needs assistance. These tags should only be used for cases that need immediate attention. Include the tag in your message in order to cause a notification.

  • @EnglishAdmins – This mention will cause a notification to English Wikipedia Administrators who are signed up to receive the alerts.
  • @CommonsAdmins – This mention will cause a notification to Commons Administrators who are signed up to receive the alerts.
  • @Stewards – This mention will cause a notification to Stewards who are signed up to receive the alerts.
  • @WikidataAdmins – This mention will cause a notification to Wikidata Administrators who are signed up to receive the alerts.
  • @SimpleEnglishAdmins – This mention will cause a notification to Simple English Administrators who are signed up to receive the alerts.

Moderators

The current moderators are as follows. All moderators are currently Stewards or English Wikipedia administrators. If a situation related to the Discord server requires immediate attention from a moderator, you can notify the group by prepending your message with @Moderators. This should only be done for issues pertaining directly to the Discord server itself, not issues on wiki.

Userboxes

{{User Discord}}, which outputs:

#This user chats on the Wikimedia Community Discord server.




{{Wikipedia:Discord/Userbox}}, which outputs:

 Come chat with us on the Wikimedia Community Discord server!




There is also a top icon for use: {{Discord topicon}}

Other servers

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wikipedia:Discord&oldid=983122660"