๐ŸŒDiscord Basics

This section covers what Discord is, why it's good for the community, what's happening with Slack, and the features of Discord.

Email Tech Fleet for tech support outside of Discord: info@techfleet.org

Introduction to The Great Tech Fleet Migration

TL;DR: Tech Fleet's migrating from Slack to Discord!

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Introduction to The Great Tech Fleet Migration

Tech Fleetโ€™s got some exciting news!

Join us in celebrating Tech Fleet's 4th anniversary with the launch of our new Discord community! After four years on Slack, weโ€™re excited to bring you a more personalized experience on Discord.

We know you have questions, but donโ€™t fear!

In this video series, Tech Fleetโ€™s Growth and Development Guild will guide you through everything you need to know to thrive on Discord.

Here are the basics

Soon, all Tech Fleet Slack members will receive instructions on how to transfer and onboard to Discord. Get ready for an exciting new chapter!

What's happening?

Tech Fleet's community is migrating from Slack to Discord!

Discord is an online community platform. It's specialized for online communities and offers fantastic features that we currently lack in Slack. This includes:

  1. Alerts and notifications

  2. Read-only channels

  3. Automated messages

  4. Live streams

  5. Dedicated apprentice, lead, and observer channels

  6. Progressive disclosure info

  7. Member permissions

  8. Custom integrations

  9. Security bots

  10. Support ticket system

Overall, it's a richer experience than Slack

Why are we doing this?

We're migrating to Discord to better support our community and offer you a better experience online!

With Discord, Tech Fleet can better support your growth and success. We can do it in ways that you'd expect from a mature online community. We can fulfil our commitment to creating fair access to tech careers using improved tools in Discord.

This series covers the following topics:

  1. Features we're using

  2. How to join

  3. Security protocols

  4. How to start interacting

  5. How to receive support

  6. How to start observing projects

  7. How to start joining masterclasses

  8. How to start joining as an apprentice, lead, or mentor on projects.

What's Happening with Tech Fleet Slack?

TL;DR: Slack will be used for the Board of Directors, and the Community will use Discord from now on!

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What's Happening with Tech Fleet Slack?

Hereโ€™s a quick summary of what to expect with Tech Fleetโ€™s Slack and Discord communities moving forward.

Discord will be the official community forum for all contributors in the Tech Fleet community. In Discord you can chat, apply for projects, sign up for masterclasses, get help, shadow meetings, and more.

Tech Fleet Slack will stop being used by community members. It will become the official company tool for the Tech Fleet Professional Association, a nonprofit with public charity status in the U.S. All full-time employees, board members, and independent contractors will be granted access to Tech Fleet Slack for company use. All apprentices, leads, observers, mentors, clients, and partners will use Tech Fleet Discord.

Members of the Tech Fleet community will primarily use Discord instead of Slack. If you need to communicate with Tech Fleet's company side, you can do so through the Discord support portals.

We understand this is a big change, so we'll keep the Slack community open for a while after the official migration to assist any members who need help during the transition.

Key Features in Tech Fleet Discord

TL;DR: So. Many. Great. Features. So. Much. Better. Than. Slack.

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Key Features in Tech Fleet Discord

If youโ€™re new to Discord you may be asking yourself: Why Discord? What can Discord do?

Weโ€™re going to cover the features and abilities that make Discord such a powerful online community tool.

Hereโ€™s an overview of new abilities in Discord for Tech Fleet community members:

Engagement

  1. Discord is built specifically with online communities in mind. In Tech Fleetโ€™s Discord youโ€™ll have everything you need to interact with the community and get involved in work.

  2. Discord lets you assign roles to personalize your experience. Once you choose your roles, you'll automatically get alerts and access to new channels related to those roles.

  3. Project teams have more control over permissions in their channels. For instance, only leads can post in announcement channels on Discord, keeping communication clear and concise. Teams can adjust these permissions anytime by submitting a support ticket in the Tech Fleet Discord.

  4. Discord syncs with events on Tech Fleetโ€™s calendar, making it easy for anyone who wants to engage with projects to stay updated and plan ahead.

  5. Some channels are open for everyone, while smaller teams like moderators and guilds have private channels for collaborative work. This keeps communication clean, allowing everyone to focus on important messages like announcements and project postings.

  6. In Discord, anyone can join a video chat via live streams. Project teams have dedicated live stream channels, and the community hangout channel is open for everyone. These live stream rooms are perfect for brainstorms, discussions, or online activities. No need for third-party linksโ€”just jump in and start collaborating!

Support and Security

  1. Discord allows any community member to create a support ticket if they need help. This ensures members can get assistance from a real personโ€”either a moderator or guild member in Tech Fleet.

  2. Unlike Slack, everyone in the Tech Fleet Discord has signed up for Tech Fleet and agreed to our community policies. That means no more spam or random people hanging around!

  3. Also unlike Slack, Tech Fleet Discord members are not allowed to direct message each other. This enhances security, protects members from unwanted messages, and prevents the sharing of malicious files and links that could compromise online safety.

  4. Tech Fleet Discord uses moderator bots to monitor activity and content in channels. These bots block inappropriate words, links, images, and files, enhancing online security and protecting the server from threats like hacking.

  5. Tech Fleetโ€™s Discord bots also assist by responding to questions and common concerns on behalf of moderators. This ensures members get the help they need promptly, without waiting for a human response.

Overall, Discord provides a more holistic, safe, secure, and interactive experience than Slack could for our community. We're able to evolve with new experiences and new support!

In the other videos, check out the details of how to get started in Discord and how to get the most out of Discord in the Tech Fleet community.

Setting Default Channels in Discord

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