Seeya ✌️
Discord will require a face scan or ID for full access next month
Submitted 17 hours ago by Beep@lemmus.org to technology@lemmy.world
https://discord.com/press-releases/discord-launches-teen-by-default-settings-globally
Comments
Embargo@lemmy.zip 1 hour ago
eager_eagle@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I hope that discourages open source projects and similar communities from using discord as forum / user support.
PiraHxCx@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
Yep, hate when I want to follow some project and they link you to X, Reddit and Discord lol
P1nkman@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Need support? Contract us on @SupportThatNeverReplies on Shitter (the nazi-everything app)!
TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I can say as a member of the PCSX2 project that I understand why we and other FOSS emulators use it as official support – but nevertheless wish that we didn’t. We’ve discussed practicalities before, the project doesn’t stay there just from inertia or because of personal preference; there are major practical reasons to prefer it over a forum (which we have), a wiki (which we have), or Matrix.
I’d be willing to endure the pain points and to scale back support in order to be off of that shithole, but I also get that’s a fringe minority sentiment shared by only a couple others. All of us would be tech-literate enough to use a client like Signal or Element for intra-project discussion, but very few people would come to Matrix for support (nor would we probably want them to due to the much greater moderation burden per end user), and the chatroom model to most of us is much easier for support than a forum. The only reason I’m still begrudgingly on Discord is for PCSX2.
Nioxic@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 hours ago
Putting valuable help, trouble solving and FAQ stuff into a discord is … annoying. You cant find it again. So it will only help the original poster
i_am_tired_boss@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
Damn it. I did not come here for a reasonable and valid explanation.
ಠ_ಠ
Begrudgingly puts away pitchfork
boatswain@infosec.pub 11 hours ago
I get it, but if bigger projects don’t move to alternatives, those alternatives have a lot less pressure to evolve. If a big project bites the bullet and moves, then there are more technically minded folks with a vested interest in making the platform better.
PumpkinSkink@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Thanks for the insight.
Sineljora@sh.itjust.works 12 hours ago
Stoat looks promising as an open source alternative
Marvie@lemmy.world 40 minutes ago
Honest question, would something like stoat allow forum threads like in discord but being accessible through a classic forum style webpage through matrix protocol in order for it to beindexed by the wider web?
FalschgeldFurkan@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Looks promising…
~…but why is it always electron…~
Turret3857@infosec.pub 7 hours ago
Theyve been around for a few years and I’m still not really impressed. No E2EE, No federation if the people running it go belly up. You might as well use signal ATP.
RandAlThor@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
I just tried to sign up for it. Installed app and signed up, it wouldn’t go through. So I go to web interface and create an account there. I’ve waited ONE HOUR for email verification, and NOTHING. Asked to resend verification, they made me click through 5 captivas, and still NOTHING. Moving on from stoat.
NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 15 hours ago
There are layers to this.
Persistent chat rooms are here to stay.
As a user? I dislike this. I am sure you do too.
As a developer who gives a shit about the users? The number of times I have had to spend sometimes upwards of a dozen back and forth emails trying to explain to someone that I am not lying to them and the answer they found on the forums are for a bug that was fixed 5 years ago… Let alone having to, politely, tell a greybeard to shut the fuck up because they keep telling people to search instead of ask for help…
Whereas a more ephemeral approach that actually encourages people to ask questions? Yes, it does cause long term issues when someone is trying to debug a project that has been on life support for years. But, by and large, just checking the current FAQ and then asking in a chatroom results in a better experience for the users, the devs, and the community managers trying to bridge the gap.
And that isn’t going to change. So they’ll either stick with discord or use something MUCH less stable… like Matrix.
This is bad.
RamRabbit@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Whereas a more ephemeral approach that actually encourages people to ask questions? Yes, it does cause long term issues when someone is trying to debug a project that has been on life support for years.
It also causes the problem that no fix is searchable. All fixes require a community member to respond.
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For the user this causes significant delays. A problem that could be solved in minutes with a search now requires hours for someone to respond to their specific problem. A problem that likely was already solved 10 times before. And god help you if the server is active, your problem might get burred instantly.
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For the support people, they have to answer the same questions over and over and over because there is no way for users to solve their own problems.
These issues compound on each other as support staff burn out and users get tired of waiting. Leads to people just going elsewhere.
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goatinspace@feddit.org 16 hours ago
PlexSheep@infosec.pub 1 hour ago
While this is certainly a big step in their enshittification process, the restrictions from just not doing it don’t seem so bad.
Content Filters: Discord users will need to be age-assured as adults in order to unblur sensitive content or turn off the setting.
Age-gated Spaces – Only users who are age-assured as adults will be able to access age-restricted channels, servers, and app commands.
Message Request Inbox: Direct messages from people a user may not know are routed to a separate inbox by default, and access to modify this setting is limited to age-assured adult users.
Friend Request Alerts: People will receive warning prompts for friend requests from users they may not know.
Stage Restrictions: Only age-assured adults may speak on stage in servers.
I will definitely not identify myself for them with these options. If they would implement more private methods of age authentication, maybe I would consider it, since I am currently bound to discord for a few social activities.
SalamenceFury@piefed.social 16 hours ago
Discord genuinely thinks they got the users by the balls… Thing is, people move platforms extremely easily. It happened to MSN Messenger, it happened to Skype, and it’ll happen to Discord too.
For those who are looking for something very similar, look at Stoat (formerly known as Revolt). Their URL is stoat.chat.
Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
One problem will be that there are way too goddamn many software projects that use Discord as a shitty replacement for a blog and documentation, and they’re gonna be a pain to move to proper content platforms.
empireOfLove2@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
Sometimes the only way thru is shitty. And those revs might have to learn the hard way not to overcentralize- or use a damn chat software for what is way more suited to forums.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip 16 hours ago
“Look, Discord requires me to upload a pic of my face or ID, which i can’t legally agree to. Provide another channel or bye.”
chunes@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
I’m in like a hundred of those. Honestly, they’re not that useful. Burn it all down and start over.
Jestzer@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
They absolutely have their users by the balls and I guarantee most people will continue to use the app after this, unfortunately.
Chulk@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
Yeah, my group of friends will be very resistant to moving away from discord. They’re all aware of the issues with it, but It’s too convenient of a platform. Personally, I will give up most of the comforts to not be under the thumb of a corporation, but I’m an outlier in my friend group with that perspective.
sheridan@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Mass migration like that occurs (from my memory at least) when the newer alternative has a much better functionality, performance, and ease of use compared to the status quo service and has a low barrier to entry (sign up is quick and straightforward). Do any of the decentralized Discord alternatives fit these criteria (honest question, not rhetorical)?
SalamenceFury@piefed.social 15 hours ago
Well, Stoat has the same features as Discord, including many premium ones for free, the ability to write HTML/CSS for your own server, with the only thing missing being video feed Otherwise, it functions the same while being much faster.
RandAlThor@lemmy.ca 11 hours ago
I just went through an EXASPERATING experience installing and signing up for Stoat. It DOES NOT WORK. Don’t recommend it.
whelk@retrolemmy.com 6 hours ago
Sounds like everyone and their dog trying to sign up at once due to this Discord news is overwhelming them, give it a while and try again later. I’m waiting a bit before I try. im_doing_my_part.jpg
ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 15 hours ago
Revolt (suppose stoat) had problems with noise cancellation and people complained to me the UI wasn’t intuitive.
gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 16 hours ago
Guess I’m not using discord anymore lol
iamdefinitelyoverthirteen@lemmy.world 11 hours ago
Well, the day it asks me for ID/face scan is the day I delete my account. Their days are numbered.
Turret3857@infosec.pub 7 hours ago
You think they’ll let you access the account settings to delete the account without scanning your face first?
TheUnsungRooster@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
If they don’t they would open the door to people committing spam or abuse intentionally to receive a suspension as the next best thing. I know I’ll do it if they don’t let me delete my account.
sudoer777@lemmy.ml 4 hours ago
Just log in with a third party client where people in the Issues are complaining about being banned
Pxtl@lemmy.ca 13 hours ago
I love how photo-based age verification scanning is the worst of both worlds - it destroys your anonymity, but not in a way that makes it easier to run a community where you can ban a person by their digital ID since they can just make a new one with the same face since facial recognition is too crude for that.
ech@lemmy.ca 15 hours ago
Didn’t they just get busted for leaking their verification data that they totally weren’t keeping?
tabular@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I refuse to verify my age with a face scan or government ID for an online account/profile… It’s too easy to imagine how fucked up that will go.
The more I delete profiles to platforms with
unwanteddisturbing features the more recluse I become. It must look to acquaintances that I don’t care to speak but what can I say? I cannot imagine convincing computer-literate friends to switch to something as they will have the same problem.Do I need to retire my gaming server before I’m locked out of controlling it?
jpablo68@infosec.pub 16 hours ago
You know what doesn’t require full face scan? #irc
mPony@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
irc
now there’s some letters I haven’t seen in quite some time.
whelk@retrolemmy.com 6 hours ago
I love IRC, just need some user friendly client recommendations if we want wider adoption by less tech savvy folks. Though I get the impression there are a good few IRC users who prefer how that filters out the “normies”
deathbird@mander.xyz 10 hours ago
It seems like the restriction should be lifted for accounts without verification after 5 years. After all, you’re not even allowed to sign up if you’re under 13, so by 5 years you have to be at least 18.
Aatube@thriv.social 6 hours ago
only changes for the unverified: * Channels, servers, and commands set to age-restricted will be inaccessible * DM requests deemed “sensitive” will be inaccessible * “Sensitive content” will be blurred * Won’t be able to become a speaker in “stage” channels, a special type where a few videoconferencers have a meeting where anyone else can watch and type but not videoconference; verified watchers can be invited to speak * DMs from unfamiliar users will be routed to a separate “warning” inbox
I think this is business as usual…
sudoer777@lemmy.ml 5 hours ago
Youtube age restricts pro-Palestine stuff and the government age restricts the Epstein files, so I can imagine this could target political or LGBTQ spaces
EndlessNightmare@reddthat.com 53 minutes ago
I’m strongly urging to migrate to Matrix with Discord bridges, and am offering to help with.
Bravo. I know Matrix isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I’ve been using it for a few years now and would like to see it gain some traction.
I absolutely refuse to put the Discord app on my phone and using Matrix bridging for Discord messaging (only works with messages, not voice/video).
Aatube@thriv.social 5 hours ago
Server owners must apply an age-restricted label to any channels that contain sexually explicit content involving adults or content involving adults that is shared solely for the purposes of sexual gratification.
nothing else needs to be age-restricted, and age restriction of topics you mentioned would be big news for discord. pluralkit’s home is discord and has great influence there, and the lgbtq+ community definitely has a larger presence than the plural community
Dsklnsadog@lemmy.dbzer0.com 16 hours ago
Seriously, like, actually seriously, I want to believe that this time everyone will leave Discord, and not just a small group of weirdos like us who “care about privacy” and ended up on Lemmy.
zewm@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
From my experience, the average joe will just do whatever is asked of them to continue using a service.
Captain_Buddha@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
I just deleted my account. So there’s one less.
astraeus@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
seconded. i’m so sick of it being the only live chat app people use like i tried matrix but the servers were kinda dead :/
veeesix@lemmy.ca 17 hours ago
Age assurance is the foundation of this new experience and is designed to respect Discord users’ privacy and choice. Discord users can choose to use facial age estimation or submit a form of identification to its vendor partners, with more options coming in the future. Additionally, Discord will implement its age inference model, a new system that runs in the background to help determine whether an account belongs to an adult, without always requiring users to verify their age. Some users may be asked to use multiple methods if more information is needed to assign an age group.
Key privacy protections of Discord’s age-assurance approach include:
- On-device processing: Video selfies for facial age estimation never leave a user’s device.
- Quick deletion: Identity documents submitted to our vendor partners are deleted quickly— in most cases, immediately after age confirmation.
- Straightforward verification: In most cases, users complete the process once and their Discord experience adapts to their verified age group. Users may be asked to use multiple methods only when more information is needed to assign an age group.
- Private status: A user’s age verification status cannot be seen by other users.
After completing a chosen method, users will receive confirmation via a direct message from Discord’s official account. A user’s assigned age group can also be viewed at any time in “My Account” settings. Users can always go to “My Account” settings to appeal their assigned age group by retrying the process. Discord prompts users to age-assure only within Discord and currently does not send emails or text messages about its age assurance process or results.
Not happy with the face-scanning either way. Gonna have a chat with some of my personal groups about how we might move forward.
towerful@programming.dev 11 hours ago
Discord is going to be the age-verification-service for gaming, if they can get laws to follow fast enough.
They have the gaming community, they have chats/friends/DMs/VoIP.
If they release a dev toolkit that implements in-game chat, in-game VoIP, friends list and age verification… All while not being tied to steam? Imagine if they offered a system for in-game purchases and gifting purchases to friends (oh yeh gam3s.gg/…/discord-adds-in-app-purchases-for-in-g… )
They are positioning themselves to offer a huge range of features, easy navigation of legal minefields, and no distribution-platform tie-in - while also offering out-of-game functionality of all of that (likely leading to player retention for games that leverage it properly).They are positioning themselves to be a market-leader/industry-standard for game social networks. Everyone that has ever used discord is the product they are selling, and they are now releasing the features and tools for companies to leverage that.
asbestos@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Excellent take
zewm@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Let me know what you come up with. I have a server of about 600 that I’m about to just shut down if this process is invasive or privacy disrespectful.
veeesix@lemmy.ca 14 hours ago
We have a small group of 5-10 adults, so going back to Slack could be an option for us. Thing is some of the Discord integration with our server has helped solve issues in the past, so we might be putting ourselves at somewhat of a disadvantage by switching. It’s still early days, but it’s worth having the open discussion with your team and explore your alternatives.
Lyra_Lycan@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 hours ago
“Content filtering” is just corporate jargon for subjective censorship, dynamically and discriminately restricting access to knowledge. I abhor all censorship.
GreyEyedGhost@piefed.ca 9 hours ago
Care to make a remix of “7 Words You Can Never Say on TV” for blahaj? YOU might abhor all censorship, but your admins don’t, and I’m inclined to agree with them.
whelk@retrolemmy.com 6 hours ago
Yeah … A complete anything-goes free for all is always going to devolve into a nasty cesspool dominated by the worst actors who have driven everyone else away. I get it, there’s a lot of awful censorship out there, but on the flip side you need to have at least some rules to prevent the otherwise inevitable descent into the worst environment possible
brap@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
Yeah that’s a hard no from me. Want me to prove my ID? I want you to prove that you’re not gonna store it. History suggests otherwise.
Not that I want to use your platform anyway.
acetanilide@lemmy.world 6 hours ago
Can someone help me figure out if matrix/element would work for what I need? So far it looks decent, but my main issue is figuring out integrations/bots.
Is there a way to integrate something like PluralKit there?
vithigar@lemmy.ca 6 hours ago
Matrix does have a bot API, but there is not even close to as robust an ecosystem of bots to choose from. Whatever you want is probably possible, but depending on your needs you may have to write it yourself.
acetanilide@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
That makes sense. Thank you!!
Psythik@lemmy.world 5 hours ago
Is Matrix a self-hosted alternative to Discord? I’ve been looking for one but the closest I can find is RocketChat, which is meant more for corporate environments. I’m going to be launching a radio station for Lemmy soon and I need a suitable solution for chat platform that I can integrate with my website (and eventually app).
sudoer777@lemmy.ml 4 hours ago
Matrix is sort of a mishmash of things, not a fan of the UX but it has federation and encryption and isn’t Discord
Zoldyck@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
RIP Discord. Good riddance
ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 16 hours ago
My group has been tinkering with matrix but the ecosystem is such a mess that I think we’ll be going to xmpp-based solutions, and once the kinks are ironed out, migrating it to i2p
Chulk@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
Not to go all conspiracy-nut, but it feels like the net (at least the social spaces) is decaying, and it feels intentional / coordinated.
At this point, I don’t think it’s conspiracy-nut to say this. We have a group of tech oligarchs in the US who are openly collaborating with a fascist administration. It is a conspiracy and this kinda shit is the result.
astraeus@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
it’s not a conspiracy basically every popular social site is astroturfed to absolute hell w/ hate bots and overmonetized and also most of them are US based so…
chunes@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Can you elaborate? My people and I are seriously considering migrating to matrix and I’d love to hear your concerns.
ImgurRefugee114@reddthat.com 7 hours ago
These are a decent overview
disroot.org/blog/matrix-closure
I don’t agree with all of those points, but that’s the gist. The metadata issue is becoming a bigger factor. I hope things like katzenpost find massive success…
As for the ecosystem: Element and Synapse are really the only viable implementations. Fluffychat is okay on android but that’s about it; most lack features or are using outdated and vulnerable dependencies / are poorly maintained / etc.
But it’s not all negatives. One great thing about Matrix is how well they handle multiple devices. It’s also been a security weak point, but not too bad and has decent ux (depending on impl…)
tomiant@piefed.social 15 hours ago
EXTREMELY INVASIVE SURVEILLANCE OPERATIONS ARE NOW PUT IN PLACE FOR you to have a better sense of community and meaningful communication <3
7112@lemmy.world 14 hours ago
EaterOfLentils@programming.dev 12 hours ago
What alternative should we all switch to?
matlag@sh.itjust.works 9 hours ago
Drop anything that’s not opensource and federated, except if you want to live the enshitification process over and over.
Matrix might be the closest to Discord. XMPP should also be considered.
whelk@retrolemmy.com 6 hours ago
I’m still trying to understand why XMPP isn’t more widely used. Probably the whole no single centralized service thing like most other federated protocols/services
TheUnsungRooster@sh.itjust.works 6 hours ago
I hope people using fake IDs to bypass it becomes common knowledge. Felony or not it’s effective and the ID verifying part isn’t.
Zwuzelmaus@feddit.org 16 hours ago
Has Discord itself already proven that it is >18?
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 12 hours ago
Not if I read it correctly: not uploading anything (and fuck you Discord) means I won’t get invited to view adult content, right? That’s it? And we’ll all be teens forever?
Pfft. Whatever.
Retro_unlimited@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
For now… maybe 6 months or a year and everyone might need it. That’s the way everything seems to be going.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 10 hours ago
Maybe. That’d be an easy goodbye though.
WanderingThoughts@europe.pub 11 hours ago
Back to post order catalogues.
Raglesnarf@lemmy.world 16 hours ago
I’m just gonna do all the tricks the kids did last time we heard about this. I’m gonna use some 3d model game character and just scan that bozo in if I can
spamfajitas@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 hours ago
There’s always thispersondoesnotexist.com if you need a lifelike photo
rogsson@piefed.social 15 hours ago
Well FU Discord. Over my dead body
KY13KR385@lemmy.world 15 hours ago
Thanks for the reminder to delete my account!
phillycodehound@piefed.world 12 hours ago
What possibly could go wrong? /s
astraeus@lemmy.ml 16 hours ago
suddenly not regretting at all quitting this months ago!
didn’t they have a massive leak recently of age verification pictures lol
disconnectikacio@lemmy.world 1 hour ago
Discord was always an overhyped crap.