alt Hacker NewsAsk HN: Revive a mostly dead Discord server
Hello :-)
I have a Discord server I set up a long time ago. Around 2016 I think. Back then, it was lively and active and loads of fun. Over time it's developed close to 5,000 members (it actually had over 5,000 members at one point) and currently has 501 members online as I type this. It's more likely there's about 10-15 that are paying attention to anything happening.
It's a Discord that originally focused on DevOps. It complemented my YouTube channel on the same topic, but since then, as it's slowly died out, and my channel's focus as shifted and changed, it's become a bit of a waste land.
It's a shame really, because a really fun Discord server can be a great place to be, but I'm not sure where to take it now.
How would you handle this situation? What would be your approach to reviving the Discord and perhaps trying to get a community of like minded hackers going again in 2026?
I won't link the Discord here as I'm not trying to beg for users or spam. I just genuinely want to work on a solution to improve the life of the server. I will put it in my HN profile, though, so if you do want to check it out that extra step is required.
Are people even interested in Discord servers any more? I don't know.
Thanks in advance.
Comments
Excuse my ignorance, but you can set up your own Discord server? I thought it‘s a SaaS kind of offering.
If your YouTube channel was the galvanizing "complement", it may be that the Discord's usefulness shifted when your channel focus did. You could potentially find ways to better complement the new focus of the channel and see if that brings new excitement to your Discord. (Are there enough channels for your shifted focus? Are you posting your videos to them? Do people have things to say about the new focus?)
Most of what keeps a Discord active or not is content and having things to chat about. You list things in an order that suggests the chat started to slowly die and then your channel's focus shifted, but maybe it was the other way around and not as much as of the audience that had found their way through the Discord followed you through the channel refocus as you expected?
- Slightly veering off the topic here, to anyone reading this, I wanted to ask. I am thinking of starting a discord server for my SaaS
- The idea is to have a bugs channel that works like a forum (remember that new discord forum Q/A feature) where people come and post Q/A about bugs aka issues (SaaS is not open source)
- A feedback channel where people can submit feedback, paste screenshots, (not sure if links should be allowed here)
- What kind of tools, bots do you recommend so that it doesnt get overloaded with junk, spam or worse porn and crypto stuff
I absolutely despise Discord for anything more than a couple of friends chatting. It is the worst way to have discussions with a large group of people that I can think of because you have to wade through so many junk messages to read anything of interest.
Make a Matrix server, tell the stragglers on Discord to migrate.
I would convert it to a Discourse forum.