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tl;dr it looks like Discord is working to introduce paid servers, channels, etc intended for content creators to monetize fan interaction. The vibe their docs

tl;dr it looks like Discord is working to introduce paid servers, channels, etc intended for content creators to monetize fan interaction. The vibe their docs give off makes it feel similar to how Patreon allows you to get exclusive content and chat direct with creators, but it does feel weird putting a direct price tag on participating on an instant messaging app. Discord is pretty explicit about creators governing their tone so users don't feel a free thing is suddenly not free, but this move does feel like they're just going to encourage more and more of the net to be blocked off behind a paywall. What if I run into financial trouble or simply can't afford to access certain high-value communities like AI/Engineering/etc ones? What if this corrupts the culture and makes it harder to find & create indie, fun communities? What does this look like if they expand it to allow toll meters to be attached to more and more of the Discord experience?

natdempk 4y ago
I think the way this will work out in practice is basically how the bridges between Patreon + Discord already work, but with better integration to Discord features. Basically the way most of these work today is if you become a Patron you get a role and get added to some private discord channels with other subscribers, but the base server remains accessible to all. This makes sense from a marketing/activity/alignment perspective for everyone and seems likely to continue. Some creators have Discord servers only accessible to subscribers/Patrons already, and there wouldn't be a change there. I think the reality is that nothing really changes here wrt. server operating structures and that a bunch of stuff just becomes more tightly integrated/featured on the Discord side so Discord can make money off it.
- matai_kolila 4y ago
  My assumption here is that this is built to replace Patreon entirely. "Sub to my Discord or sub to my Patreon to get exclusive content!" eventually becomes, "Sub to my Discord to get exclusive content!" and cuts out Patreon entirely.
  - unity1001 4y ago
    You can connect more things to Patreon - your website, custom apps, even software and provide patron-only features from all of those thanks to Patreon. To compete with Patreon, Discord needs to provide all of that.
    - hisnameishank 4y ago
      Not really, the Discord API will probably supply some sort of status per user in a given discord channel. Discord is already setup for users to interact with server bots on a rich command palate. Bots at this point are just server extensions. Webhooks have been a thing for ages. Discord is arguably one of the easiest services to bind to from a developer's perspective.
      - unity1001 4y ago
        > Not really, the Discord API will probably supply some sort of status per user in a given discord channel. They definitely could. But their rate-limiting schemes cripple any large-size integration. When you have up to a few hundred users, that may work. But if you have thousands of users triggering calls to the Discord API through all the apps that you can connect if Discord even allows it, then you will hit their brick-like rate limits way too fast. Patreon is much better with that - people can connect all their apps, websites, Vimeo, Discord, Discourse, even desktop software that they distribute, and get them work with their membership at Patreon. There are even GTA servers, GTA mods that distribute member-only benefits to their users via Patreon. I'd even say that its a very good way for desktop software makers to monetize their apps too. Like the PC benchmark software maker OCCT does. (https://www.patreon.com/occt https://www.patreon.com/occt)
    - rcxdude 4y ago
      discord is easily the most common integration with Patreon, in fact it's often a strict superset of the value of being a patron (i.e. discord contains all of the content which then gets posted to patreon shortly afterwards). Discord can easily replace patreon for a lot of creators with this.
    - 4y ago
- thatguy0900 4y ago
  Seems like this would be better served with just patreon and only fans integration. Discord could charge the creators to turn it on. Why would I subscribe to someone once on there and then again to them on discord.
  - MattDemers 4y ago
    It depends what the "primary" place is. If poeple go to Patreon to receive a product, and Discord is a sidebar to that, then yeah, keep it to Patreon. If a Discord community is funded with a Patreon, this can be a replacement.
PaulsWallet 4y ago
>...this move does feel like they're just going to encourage more and more of the net to be blocked off behind a paywall. On a personal level I have no problem with this. It's just one way of moderating and curating your community. Not everyone has the time and resources to deal with a free for all.
- matai_kolila 4y ago
  Agreed. It's hard to create quality content, and even harder to do it without being able to monetize that content. "The Internet should be free!" that's just not sustainable. I'm sorry but it isn't.
  - Netisneverfree 4y ago
    That's just it. The internet was never free. There has pretty much always been some method that people have been making money off of creating content for it, in some format or another. Whether it be basic ads, affiliate links, sponsorship spots, or web stores; the internet has always been paid for somehow in some way. And that's before we discuss things like ISP's providing that connection to it in the first place. People who think the internet is or should be free, are disconnected from reality. I grew up with what we called farmer vision, but others would know it as rabbit ear or aerial tv. You had 3 to maybe 5 basic channels in your area if you were lucky; and they were all paid for by ads... er... commercials. The idea was that the content was technically free, since you didn't really need to watch the commercials. (You could just go to the bathroom, make a snack, get a drink, etc.) But the paid advertisement was paying for that broadcast, and so you ultimately had to put up with your shows being interrupted. YouTube does nothing different, really. Yet look at all the flak they get for their usage of the same methodology. The internet was never free, has never been free, and never will be free. You will always be paying for it somehow; whether it be out of pocket, via attention, or your data. TV was no different, up to the data part; and set-top boxes changed that too. Once those could phone home and report usage, especially to thwart piracy; your data became another potential sales figure for even the tv stations. I personally would much rather we have an internet culture where we don't mind paying for the things we like, and want to see continue to exist. This would essentially democratize the internet; though it may also induce a segregation of the unwealthy from being able to participate... but those people tend to be children and the poor. Children don't pay for anything, their parents do. And if the poor or their parents don't have enough money to pay for 1-10$ subscriptions on a monthly basis; then they have much more serious things to consider. Like getting a job, or a better paying one. Not their usage of the internet. Besides, if they already are paying for a basic connection, they shouldn't have much trouble paying for the few things they enjoy to use. Alternatively, they could opt-in to be a data source for free access or something like that. Or see more ads per hour. Keep it more open for everyone. But that still goes to prove the point. The net is not free. Never has been, never will be. So we would be wise to setup a good culture around it while we still can, before the greediest of us start to make it terrible for everyone, and not just the poor. I like the concept that Brave browser uses for this reason. It's just too bad that with the way things are going with crypto right now, that it's going to get some bad rep from it likely. Also doesn't help that the devs behind it are... less than stellar. But that's another can of worms aside from this giant one.
weego 4y ago
Their user overlap with Twitch is so strong that it makes sense to replicate the Twitch model of creator subscriber 'rev share'. I'm not sure it'll pan out as successfully though, but we will see.
notatoad 4y ago
"access to the discord" seems to be a pretty common perk to see on patreon. it's not like this is a new thing discord has invented, they're just trying to be the ones collecting the money for a thing that creators are already doing.
lmm 4y ago
A lot of discords are already paid, or invite-only secret clubs (even worse IMO). It doesn't seem any different from a paid forum, or heck, a lot of the reason people pay for OnlyFans is messaging.

natdempk 4y ago

I think the way this will work out in practice is basically how the bridges between Patreon + Discord already work, but with better integration to Discord features. Basically the way most of these work today is if you become a Patron you get a role and get added to some private discord channels with other subscribers, but the base server remains accessible to all. This makes sense from a marketing/activity/alignment perspective for everyone and seems likely to continue. Some creators have Discord servers only accessible to subscribers/Patrons already, and there wouldn't be a change there. I think the reality is that nothing really changes here wrt. server operating structures and that a bunch of stuff just becomes more tightly integrated/featured on the Discord side so Discord can make money off it.

matai_kolila 4y ago
My assumption here is that this is built to replace Patreon entirely. "Sub to my Discord or sub to my Patreon to get exclusive content!" eventually becomes, "Sub to my Discord to get exclusive content!" and cuts out Patreon entirely.
- unity1001 4y ago
  You can connect more things to Patreon - your website, custom apps, even software and provide patron-only features from all of those thanks to Patreon. To compete with Patreon, Discord needs to provide all of that.
  - hisnameishank 4y ago
    Not really, the Discord API will probably supply some sort of status per user in a given discord channel. Discord is already setup for users to interact with server bots on a rich command palate. Bots at this point are just server extensions. Webhooks have been a thing for ages. Discord is arguably one of the easiest services to bind to from a developer's perspective.
    - unity1001 4y ago
      > Not really, the Discord API will probably supply some sort of status per user in a given discord channel. They definitely could. But their rate-limiting schemes cripple any large-size integration. When you have up to a few hundred users, that may work. But if you have thousands of users triggering calls to the Discord API through all the apps that you can connect if Discord even allows it, then you will hit their brick-like rate limits way too fast. Patreon is much better with that - people can connect all their apps, websites, Vimeo, Discord, Discourse, even desktop software that they distribute, and get them work with their membership at Patreon. There are even GTA servers, GTA mods that distribute member-only benefits to their users via Patreon. I'd even say that its a very good way for desktop software makers to monetize their apps too. Like the PC benchmark software maker OCCT does. (https://www.patreon.com/occt https://www.patreon.com/occt)
  - rcxdude 4y ago
    discord is easily the most common integration with Patreon, in fact it's often a strict superset of the value of being a patron (i.e. discord contains all of the content which then gets posted to patreon shortly afterwards). Discord can easily replace patreon for a lot of creators with this.
  - 4y ago
thatguy0900 4y ago
Seems like this would be better served with just patreon and only fans integration. Discord could charge the creators to turn it on. Why would I subscribe to someone once on there and then again to them on discord.
- MattDemers 4y ago
  It depends what the "primary" place is. If poeple go to Patreon to receive a product, and Discord is a sidebar to that, then yeah, keep it to Patreon. If a Discord community is funded with a Patreon, this can be a replacement.

PaulsWallet 4y ago

>...this move does feel like they're just going to encourage more and more of the net to be blocked off behind a paywall. On a personal level I have no problem with this. It's just one way of moderating and curating your community. Not everyone has the time and resources to deal with a free for all.

matai_kolila 4y ago
Agreed. It's hard to create quality content, and even harder to do it without being able to monetize that content. "The Internet should be free!" that's just not sustainable. I'm sorry but it isn't.
- Netisneverfree 4y ago
  That's just it. The internet was never free. There has pretty much always been some method that people have been making money off of creating content for it, in some format or another. Whether it be basic ads, affiliate links, sponsorship spots, or web stores; the internet has always been paid for somehow in some way. And that's before we discuss things like ISP's providing that connection to it in the first place. People who think the internet is or should be free, are disconnected from reality. I grew up with what we called farmer vision, but others would know it as rabbit ear or aerial tv. You had 3 to maybe 5 basic channels in your area if you were lucky; and they were all paid for by ads... er... commercials. The idea was that the content was technically free, since you didn't really need to watch the commercials. (You could just go to the bathroom, make a snack, get a drink, etc.) But the paid advertisement was paying for that broadcast, and so you ultimately had to put up with your shows being interrupted. YouTube does nothing different, really. Yet look at all the flak they get for their usage of the same methodology. The internet was never free, has never been free, and never will be free. You will always be paying for it somehow; whether it be out of pocket, via attention, or your data. TV was no different, up to the data part; and set-top boxes changed that too. Once those could phone home and report usage, especially to thwart piracy; your data became another potential sales figure for even the tv stations. I personally would much rather we have an internet culture where we don't mind paying for the things we like, and want to see continue to exist. This would essentially democratize the internet; though it may also induce a segregation of the unwealthy from being able to participate... but those people tend to be children and the poor. Children don't pay for anything, their parents do. And if the poor or their parents don't have enough money to pay for 1-10$ subscriptions on a monthly basis; then they have much more serious things to consider. Like getting a job, or a better paying one. Not their usage of the internet. Besides, if they already are paying for a basic connection, they shouldn't have much trouble paying for the few things they enjoy to use. Alternatively, they could opt-in to be a data source for free access or something like that. Or see more ads per hour. Keep it more open for everyone. But that still goes to prove the point. The net is not free. Never has been, never will be. So we would be wise to setup a good culture around it while we still can, before the greediest of us start to make it terrible for everyone, and not just the poor. I like the concept that Brave browser uses for this reason. It's just too bad that with the way things are going with crypto right now, that it's going to get some bad rep from it likely. Also doesn't help that the devs behind it are... less than stellar. But that's another can of worms aside from this giant one.

weego 4y ago

Their user overlap with Twitch is so strong that it makes sense to replicate the Twitch model of creator subscriber 'rev share'. I'm not sure it'll pan out as successfully though, but we will see.

notatoad 4y ago

"access to the discord" seems to be a pretty common perk to see on patreon. it's not like this is a new thing discord has invented, they're just trying to be the ones collecting the money for a thing that creators are already doing.

lmm 4y ago

A lot of discords are already paid, or invite-only secret clubs (even worse IMO). It doesn't seem any different from a paid forum, or heck, a lot of the reason people pay for OnlyFans is messaging.