Making Tech Headlines · Page 5
Discord Makes Public Conversation Easier to Find, Then Points to the Exit Setting
· New York time
Messages from Discord's public Discoverable Servers may soon appear in search engine results, and users can opt out. The change makes conversations in those communities easier to find beyond Discord itself, extending their reach to people who search the web rather than enter a server. Discoverability is useful when a community wants newcomers to find discussions about a shared interest. It can also change the audience for a message. A post that was already in a public community may be encountered in a different setting when a search result presents it to someone who has never joined the server. The opt-out gives users a choice, but it also makes finding and considering that choice part of participation. Discord's feature treats search visibility as a way to bring more people to public communities. Members who prefer a smaller audience have reason to pay attention to how the setting works. The platform has long borrowed the language of rooms and communities, while search engines organize the web like an enormous public index. Putting the two together makes for a curious renovation: the room is still public, but its conversations have a new route to the street. Some members may welcome the visitors. Others may wish the welcome mat had come with a larger label.
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