Suggestion to Create a Discord Server for Better Communication

[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

After some research, I noticed that most Discord servers are associated with YouTubers who use them primarily to promote their scripts or products, and I couldn’t find a comprehensive, community-focused group like this one.

So, I thought, why not create a Discord server alongside this Google Group? I’ve already set up and organized a server, and it’s ready for anyone to join.

https://discord.gg/weK3dfkHJs

[H D]

there is the tech-art.org slack group, which AFAIK is the biggest active community.
people will only join your discord once it's a active community. which it will only become when people join and participate ;)

On Monday, 25 November 2024 at 11:38:13 UTC Abdelhalim abulmagd wrote:

After some research, I noticed that most Discord servers are associated with YouTubers who use them primarily to promote their scripts or products, and I couldn’t find a comprehensive, community-focused group like this one.

So, I thought, why not create a Discord server alongside this Google Group? I’ve already set up and organized a server, and it’s ready for anyone to join.

Python Programming for Autodesk Maya

[Justin Israel]

Yea, this group has gotten pretty low activity over the years. Not sure how active an associated Discord server would be for this community when there are already other larger ones.

I also agree that slack has some well established groups already 

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[vince touache]

Idk, I think there are already several discord available, the tech-art one, or ask-a-rigger, to name a few, I'm not sure what a new one could bring. Also, I think many users of this group are like me, that is, don't post a lot but read very carefully all the discussions. And to be honest, those discords are way too active for me, I don't have time to read everything, so I kinda like the slowness of this group, where we can easily search in old messages, and take our time.

[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

  Thank you for letting me know about the tech-art.org Slack group! Honestly, I’m not very familiar with Slack, but I’d love to explore it if it offers something unique.  

That said, I believe Discord has some features that make it really appealing for building active communities:

•   Discord is much more popular and widely recognized than Slack, so people are generally more familiar with it.
  
•   also it's available on mobile, PC, and even PlayStation, making it easy to access anytime and from anywhere.  
• Voice Channels: Perfect for live discussions, brainstorming, or quick Q&A sessions  
•   It’s easy to create dedicated channels for specific topics, making it simple to find or share information.  
• and more

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[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

I’m one of those people who isn’t familiar with Slack, and I’m sure there are many others like me. On the other hand, Discord is widely known and used by people daily.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/python_inside_maya/CAPGFgA0KEcK7k-VLDf5wVggthAdLrgh3%2BSimct-qmbgMd8%3DjbQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Justin Israel]

On Wed, Nov 27, 2024, 5:52 AM Abdelhalim abulmagd <abdelhali...@gmail.com> wrote:

  Thank you for letting me know about the tech-art.org Slack group! Honestly, I’m not very familiar with Slack, but I’d love to explore it if it offers something unique.  

That said, I believe Discord has some features that make it really appealing for building active communities:

•   Discord is much more popular and widely recognized than Slack, so people are generally more familiar with it.
  
•   also it's available on mobile, PC, and even PlayStation, making it easy to access anytime and from anywhere.  
• Voice Channels: Perfect for live discussions, brainstorming, or quick Q&A sessions  
•   It’s easy to create dedicated channels for specific topics, making it simple to find or share information.  
• and more

These are great features. I just don't think they make a strong case as a server for this particular group. Why do we need Playstation access? Why do we need voice channels when the engagement on this group is already really low. 

Slack has multiple channels as well, threaded discussions, searching, media sharing, voice integrations through zppm, etc. 

I'm not saying slack is better than discord. I'm just saying slack exists to support communities related to this one so there is already a solution with a community base. 

Starting a discord seems counter productive. 

On Mon, Nov 25, 2024 at 9:35 PM H D <hannes...@gmail.com> wrote:

there is the tech-art.org slack group, which AFAIK is the biggest active community.
people will only join your discord once it's a active community. which it will only become when people join and participate ;)

On Monday, 25 November 2024 at 11:38:13 UTC Abdelhalim abulmagd wrote:

After some research, I noticed that most Discord servers are associated with YouTubers who use them primarily to promote their scripts or products, and I couldn’t find a comprehensive, community-focused group like this one.

So, I thought, why not create a Discord server alongside this Google Group? I’ve already set up and organized a server, and it’s ready for anyone to join.

Python Programming for Autodesk Maya

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[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

I actually agree with much of what you said. My main point, though, is about familiarity and accessibility.

Most people already know and use Discord, so it’s easy to invite them to join. On the other hand, if you mention Slack to someone, chances are they won’t know what it is unless they’ve worked in a company where Slack is commonly used. It’s primarily a tool for corporate environments, which limits its reach outside those circles.

Discord, however, is something people of all backgrounds use daily for gaming, communities, hobbies, and more. It’s already well-established as a go-to platform for group interactions, which makes it a lot easier to onboard new members without having to explain what it is or how it works.

Again, I’m not suggesting Discord is better than Slack for everyone—I just believe that for a broader community, Discord’s familiarity makes it a stronger option.

[Justin Israel]

Right, we are agreeing on some aspects here. My argument is that I don't think there is enough activity in this community to make a new Discord server out of it. But that being said, you are totally free to start it and propose that the community move away from this mailing list to a more dynamic Discord server. You could then take on the role of being the admin. If you aren't going to be the admin, who will? 

Do you feel that the people that frequent this community engage with Maya mostly in a non-professional context? I figured it was a lot of visual effects, animation, game dev, etc, in a professional context. But I could be wrong. Either way, I think if there were an existing Discord community that already has some critical mass, it would be better to direct people there, as opposed to trying to start a new one specific to Maya Development, and trying to grow it. But that is totally up to you.

I will add that, speaking for myself, even though I am an admin of this community, I haven't developed for Maya in probably 12 years now. I just do my part to admin the community as long as it seems to remain active. So my interest in also admining a Discord server is quite low to zero 😁

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/python_inside_maya/c02592d6-f0b5-436b-aa58-e33590e11a99n%40googlegroups.com.

[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

To be honest, I wasn’t planning on managing the server myself long-term because I’m still quite new to programming in general. My initial thought was to set it up, get things started, and then hand it over to the admins of this Google Group, as they’re already familiar with managing the community. My main goal was simply to initiate the idea and see if it could spark interest.

I also understand that development Not just limited  on Maya. However, this is an easy problem to solve on Discord. New channels can always be added later for any topic the community feels is relevant, whether it’s Maya, game development, Python, or anything else. Discord’s flexibility allows the server to grow and adapt as needed.

[Abdelhalim abulmagd]

  I hope you'll consider joining, and I’ll give you admin access very easily, as I mentioned before. I just wanted to get the idea started  

[Justin Israel]

You don't have to be an experienced developer to be an admin. My role is really just to approve people, remove spam, and keep conversations relevant to the group. The community is expected to help share their experience as a whole.

I appreciate you offering admin access. I'm going to be upfront now that I don't have the desire to manage it. But maybe 1 or more other people will put their hands up? 

Marcus has yet to weigh in, being the other active admin here. He might have a stronger appetite for this than I do. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/python_inside_maya/9c051d06-5edb-4cd8-9541-ff5a2b2fe074n%40googlegroups.com.

[Marcus Ottosson]

I'm part of a few Discord servers, but prefer this mailing list for two reasons.

1. Providing help in a bigger community is like trying to boil the ocean. There's just too much, and the lack of impact is discouraging.

2. Searchability. I spend time crafting replies here, because I know it'll be seen not just by the immediate reader, but by future readers as well via Google et. al. (and probably ChatGPT)

Then there's the repetition and low-effort communication you get from chats. Quantity over quaility.

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