Discord revolutionizes online conversations with… forums

Discord, the social messaging service that helped oust old-school internet forums, now wants to bring them back. Today the company announced forum channels, which are exactly what you envision: a dedicated space to have conversations without having to worry about a fast-paced chat feed. You’ll find them just below your usual Discord channels. When creating a forum, you can restrict posting permissions and set guidelines for the conversation. Crucially, they’re also compatible with Discord’s AutoMod, which can help clean up discussions. (Moderation has always been the downfall of a poorly run forum.)

While it’s nice to see the concept returning, it’s funny to see Discord explaining the concept of forums to younger users. Yes kids, back then we had to furiously update web pages to discover the latest answer to ours gloriole lore theories. Discord has often been credited as a return to IRC’s messaging blitz, paired with real-time voice chat. So it only makes sense that it’s responsible for helping us relive the glory days of forums.