Suggestion Titan Embed for Discord

[welian]

It's ya gurl welian with another site suggestion here!!!

Index page on Titan Embeds for Discord

Using Titan would embed the RPN Discord server right into a page - and I don't mean the widget that shows who's online and in the voice servers. It would be the actual chat, where you can log in and send messages, all without opening a separate window or app. It's gotten really popular recently as a method of merging the functionality/ubiquity of Discord, and the visibility of a traditional shout-box.

The advantage of the Shoutbox (god rest its soul) was that it was on the RPN site. Therefore, the more often we were in the chat, the more time we were spending on RPN. Using Titan, we could display the Discord chat on the site, and then we'd all be spending a bit more time on the site because we're able to talk to everyone in the Discord server - from RPN!

(Apparently some sites let you create accounts using Discord as well, like with Facebook and G+? idk, but with the cross-pollination between RPers and gamers, it's really something to consider looking into)

 

[Tobi Naefaerne]

Bumping this for interest.

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

I almost never use Discord because of the hassle of having to actually open it in another tab. XD I adore this idea.

 

[Kaerri]

Maybe I'm misreading, but it sounds to me like you'd still have to have another tab for it. I mean, if it's, say, on the main RpNation page, you'll need to keep a tab there while you use others to see roleplays and other parts of the site.

Either that, or it would need to be on every page, which would slow down loading times for everyone, whether they wanted to use it or not. We've had that issue with other on-site chats.

Personally, I have the app on my phone and on my computer, which I find much more convenient than a browser tab because of the notifications. I get that not everyone wants to do that, but that's what works for me.

 

[Cold Ramen Noodles]

I more so meant I could chat on the site, leave the conversation and do some replies, then come back again. On the same tab if I'm not multi tasking.

All on RPN without needing to go on discord.

 

[welian]

Kaerri A non-issue. Desktop users typically have multiple tabs open already with different threads in them, plus XenForo pushes desktop alerts in every RPN browser tab when there's a notification. Workflow-wise, there's no significant difference between navigating between two programs, and two tabs. Hell, some users only run Discord through their web browser because they're on a computer where they don't have install permissions.

Let me be clear (Thanks Obama!) - this would NOT replace the Discord application for anyone. This is simply a lightweight embed that would allow users to access the Discord chat from only the site. It's convenient, and it would help keep users looking at the forum. That's how you keep up user retention and engagement - you make it easier for users to engage with various aspects of the site.

 

[Kaerri]

Kaerri A non-issue. Desktop users typically have multiple tabs open already with different threads in them, plus XenForo pushes desktop alerts in every RPN browser tab when there's a notification. Workflow-wise, there's no significant difference between navigating between two programs, and two tabs. Hell, some users only run Discord through their web browser because they're on a computer where they don't have install permissions.

That was pretty much my point, yes.

It's convenient, and it would help keep users looking at the forum.

Noted.

 

[welian]

Maybe if we ask nicely, Discord will eventually update its widget to have a chat section. Until then...

 

[Fable]

There is still a question of stability as the entire embed is bot-dependent, meaning if the bot goes down, the embed becomes useless. Not to mention if Discord will allow the project to still be a thing. After slurking in Titan's own discord embed chat, there are actually quite a few issues it's experiencing as a project. Bad Gateway errors, hours of downtime, random drops of bot service, randomly kicking logged in users, etc. That's just in the last 24 hours.

 

[welian]

That's interesting. Anecdotally, I'm in a few servers where it's used, and no problems have been noticed. Still, that's not much more buggy than the typical Discord bot. It's not like I'm suggesting it as a critical/primary function on the site either, just something that would make it convenient to bridge the gap between the site and our chat.

 

[Kaerri]

The typical Discord bot doesn't generally shut down the chat when it bugs, though. We'll keep an eye on it, but right now it looks like it's more trouble than it's worth.

 

[welian]

It wouldn't be the first or the last time RPN adopts a technology, becomes one of its biggest users, and then has the ear of the developer. ;3