alt Hacker NewsThe issue is if you don't enforce the phone number requirement on your server you get all the trolls who don't use phone numbered accounts. I wish Discord would allow you to restrict known VPNs instead of requiring phone numbers. It would solve so many issues. I know a LOT of VPNs wont be caught, but if you block MOST non-residential IP blocks, you'll capture a lot of them.
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Phone numbers may be required to bring order to a vast international user base, but a few dozen devs and a small user community can function without invasive moderation tactics.
The communities I'm in don't require a phone number and very rarely gets trolls. Proper moderation is the most important part. Occasionally there's a spambot, but they're just hacked accounts from pre-existing real users, and as someone that uses a VPN with Discord, I'd prefer to not be treated as an evil-doer please.
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Trolls likely have access to phone number farms though. And in some parts of the world it's extra cheap to mass-register phone numbers. Trolls wouldn't be harmed in a data leak, only normal users get hurt.