What is Discord?

Discord is arguably the best instant messaging service on the market today because you not only chat on Discord but also stream your favorite games and movies to other members.

Described as “Skype for Gamers,” you can stream gaming content to thousands of followers at go.

If you doubt that if Discord is suitable for non-gamers? Let us tell you that about 70% of active Discord users use it for non-gaming purposes or a mix of gaming and messaging.

Everything you need to know about Discord

Discord is a messaging app with unique streaming features. It’s similar to popular messaging apps like Skype and Slack, but with an exception. You can stream content (games and videos) from your computer to other Discord members on a dedicated “server.” If that isn’t enough, you can also chat to them about games and movies on the same server.

Discord app supports video chat, voice calls, and direct messages, allowing users to get in touch however they please. These non-gaming features are helpful to gamers and game developers, firms, streamers, and seldom users.

To start with, you need to download it on your computer or smartphone. It’s available for both Android and iOS users.

If you aren’t keen on downloading the standalone app, you can use the browser-based version. However, there are significant features that are only available to standalone app users.

Discord members using the browser-based version cannot stream content. You’d need to have Discord installed on your computer or phone to stream games or movies.

How to start with Discord?

Before you can stream on Discord, start with creating an account and then log into the app.

  • Create your first server by clicking “Create My Own”
  • Name your server and relevant image as server icon.
  • Click “Create” and check your new server to appear in the menu.

After successfully creating your server, you can start sending invites to friends or other Discord members.

You virtually own this private server, so don’t hold back in creating rules to let the new members know what is allowed and what isn’t.

Profanity, explicit content, hate speech, and abusive language are standard on many Discord gaming servers, so let them know that you won’t tolerate someone swearing in the public servers.

However, moderating the entire chat for each word can become a daunting task. So, how do you monitor and moderate inappropriate content without spending much time?

This is where Discord Bots will help you.

What are Discord bots, and are they helpful?

Discord bots are machines that can perform several functional automated tasks on your server, such as welcoming new members, moderating content, and banning rule breakers. They save you much time in moderating chats individually.

But that isn’t all that Bots do. You can add bots for various purposes.

  • MEE6 is a popular moderation bot that scans servers for rule violations and moderation.
  • Dank Memer is a popular bot that helps you find and use the most relevant and unique memes and custom emojis.
  • gg is another popular bot that provides a ticketing system. It’s perfect for businesses running customer service on Discord. They can tag and resolve each ticket for a specific purpose.

There are other valuable bots too.

  • GAWesome allows moderation and bringing up search results from Google, Wiki, and Youtube.
  • Tatsumaki offers text-based commands to kick and ban users.
  • Octave is a music and audio bot used by Discord communities to find music from the internet.
  • Xenon bot allows you to back up your Discord server and transfer messages between multiple channels.
  • Apollo is a scheduler bot used for calendar and event reminders.

The bots are a significant part of the chat app, and adding valuable bots to your Discord server will only enhance your user experience.

How to stream on Discord?

Previously, Discord only allowed desktop users to share streams. Thankfully, they changed it. Now, even smartphone users can share streams without much hassle.

Here are the steps to start streaming on Discord.

  • Once you have created a server, proceed with joining a voice channel because you can’t stream without a voice channel. Every voice channel is preceded by # or hash sign, such as #gamers and #cooking.
  • Log into the voice channel and create a new stream. Once active in the voice chat room, you can start your video games. If Discord recognizes it automatically, you’d see a small tile at the bottom of the server menu (TV with a curved arrow) that offers an option to go live.
  • You’d see the options “Video” or “Screen” appear at the bottom of the app. (Find the icon to share a stream that looks like a video camera for mobile app users.)
  • Choosing “Video” will allow for screen sharing from your webcam, while “Screen” lets you share your screen with other users.
  • Choosing preferred resolution and frame rate.
  • Choose your preferred video quality resolution and frame rate. Although Discord is a free streaming app, it only supports 480p and 720p resolutions. To stream at HD or higher resolution, you’d need Discord Nitro that comes at $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year.
  • The same applies to your stream’s frame rate. The free version offers 15 and 30 frames per second. But with the Discord Nitro, you can stream at a dynamic 60 fps.
  • Whenever you’re ready to begin streaming, click “Go Live.”

Optionally, you can share movies with your friends, too, but Discord won’t automatically recognize this action. For this, you need to adjust the privacy settings to choose a movie streaming instead of gaming.

Dedicated streamers can consider adding additional features like the “Streamer mode.”

What Is Discord Streamer Mode?

The Streamer mode lets you stream your content on Discord without revealing non-gaming aspects like chat notifications, navigation bar, browser tabs, and social media notifications to the followers.

Although it isn’t a massive problem when streaming content only to your friend list, it often becomes a nuisance when you become a popular streamer with thousands of followers.

The streamer mode prevents your followers from seeing your chat and social media notifications during a stream and protects you from accidentally revealing your personal detail.

Discord Streamer mode helps to;

  • Hide your personal information
  • Hide invite links
  • Mute non-gaming sounds and notification pop-ups.

To enable Discord Streamer Mode, you’d need to integrate the streaming application with the Discord app.

  • Go to the Gear icon on the Discord app to access the “User Settings” menu. For the Mobile version, tap on the hamburger icon.
  • Tap on the “Connections” from the and scroll down to “Server Settings.” Next, tap on the “Integrations” menu and then choose the platform you want to sync the streamer application and with your app.
  • Finish by tapping on the “Sync box.” next to the specific platform.

Now, enable the streaming application by downloading a freeware streaming kit such as OBS (Open Broadcasting Software).

  • Once installed, OBS will ask permission to connect to the Discord client. Allow it to connect to your Discord app. Now, you can enable Discord stream mode.
  • Open User Setting and find “Streamer Mode,” and then tick the “Enable Streamer Mode.”

What are other exciting features of Discord?

If you’re wondering, Discord offers more than streaming and instant messaging. You can install a voice changer app on Discord to change your voice gender and record audios to send to your friend.

There are third-party voice apps that integrate with Discord to let you alter your voice to create different effects.

There are many voice changer apps for Discord that lets you change your voice to a different gender, robot, and anime character. Such app or software lets you modulate voice for a deeper, higher, or younger effect.

If you’re wondering, the voice changing app is undoubtedly legal until you use it to have fun with your friends.

Another exciting feature from Discord is a custom theme chooser. You can change the app’s interface using BetterDiscord. It’s a Discord client plugin that allows you to add custom themes, including injecting custom CSS to add zest to your Discord interface.

You can download Discord themes from the BetterDiscord website, and if you want something different, you can also create Discord themes by using the Codedotspectra Editor, a Discord theme maker.

Finally, a feature that is available to every Discord member is a text formatting feature.

To start with text formatting, you’d need to know how different syntax commands work.  Discord uses Markdown syntax, a lightweight markup language, to create formatted text using a plain-text editor.

  • To bold any text, you’d need to type **Sample text**in the message bar. The formatted text will come out as Sample Text. Similarly, use a single asterisk after and before the text to italicize it. Example; *Sample text*
  • Using three asterisks will make your text both bolder and italicized. Example; ***Sample text***

Countless other syntax commands allow you to format text to your desired output. Formatting in Discord is plain and simple once you get used to using all the relevant syntax symbols.

How is Discord different from other messengers?

Discord has a unique fan base. Although being a lot similar to Skype, Slack, and Team Speak, it separates itself from just being a messaging app.

There are tons of hidden features on Discord: a dedicated content streaming mode, server boosting, theme selection, bot integration, and unique messaging features like text formatting. Gamers can even link their Discord and Xbox accounts to let other members see what they’re playing.

With over 140 million users worldwide, it has become an invaluable communication tool for gamers, streamers, and regular chat users. Along with the rising number of members, the features provided by Discord are sure to grow, so if you aren’t yet on Discord, you should join it asap.

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