TeamSpeak vs Discord - on which side are you on?

Discussion in 'Offtopic' started by kamild_, Jul 20, 2016.

?

Which side are you on? (I encourage you to discuss!)

  1. Discord

  2. TeamSpeak

Results are only viewable after voting.
  1. kamild_

    kamild_ Well-Known Member

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    I'm directing this question to everyone who has used both communicators. Good, old, trusty TeamSpeak? Or new, fancy Discord? Which one would you recommend and which one would you advice to keep away from, and why? What features of your favorite program are very important for you?
    I have very little experience with Discord, although I've used TeamSpeak a lot, so I can't properly form my opinion on Discord. How would you convince me to keep using the latter? I'm hoping you can help me out with that! :)

    EDIT: Due to confusion caused by this thread: I am asking for discussion as a normal player, not a staff member. This is not an "official" thread/announcement related to MyM! I created it so I can find out which means of communications do you prefer, as I said earlier - "I have very little experience with Discord, although I've used TeamSpeak a lot, so I can't properly form my opinion on Discord.". I don't see a problem with TS3 and I'd like to know why did Discord became so popular ;)
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
  2. Tried both, found ts more user-friendly in my opinion. Discord just looks fancy and makes everything complicated.
     
  3. yurikha27

    yurikha27 Well-Known Member

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    Disclaimer: The following content is not endorsed by the MineYourMind staff or reflective of their official position on this topic. I have made this post of my own accord and this message should not be construed to imply staff support for the validity of this debate or any side within it.

    Hello all,
    This will be a rather lengthy post, so I'll put the TL; DR up here for all people who have made your decisions and will remain unconvinced by what I have to say:
    TL; DR: Discord is better than TeamSpeak!

    Change. Renewal. Progress. Throughout human history, there have been those opposed to those three words, the toppling of the status quo, whether because of their fear of uncertainty, their lethargy towards action, or perhaps because of their biases towards the familiar. How often have you reacted, "That's never going to happen," when proposed with a radical new change? I know I have; it took me weeks to start Infinity after playing on Agrarian Skies for the longest time. I'd always justified my refusal with often contradictory reasoning: Infinity had too many mods; it had performance issues; then it was overpowered, or it would be yet another grind. Indeed, the mind can find excuses to resist change where no reason exists. Some are more objective and resistant to this bias; others succumb to its allure every time. With this in mind, I encourage you to reflect and examine your reasons for your support of either side as you read on.

    One of the most common arguments against Discord is its complexity. Is it really though? There's a tutorial, which TeamSpeak lacks. Who even knew about esoteric TeamSpeak identities, or how TeamSpeak permissions work, or how to even switch to push-to-talk? Remember back to your first use of TeamSpeak: What were those things called channels? What is that little circle in front of my name? Where are my friends? Why can't I chat? HOW DO I TALK!?!?! Every application has its learning curve, and Discord has done a wonderful job of allowing you to explore its many features while still creating a basic environment in which players can communicate. Indeed, this is similar to that of many modpacks we play; there's always the standard technology base: Applied Energistics, Thermal Expansion, perhaps IC2, but there are others like Draconic Evolution that can be rewarding to play with. We must not stick with the familiar and forgo the thousands of new features Discord has to offer.

    Every change has its costs. In every upheaval, collateral damage is done; those who cannot adjust are often cast by the wayside and left to perish. What would changing to Discord cost? It will take time to adjust to the new application. We will have to create another authentication/verification scheme for Discord, which may take a significant amount of time. Some players may be unable to adjust, and despite our best efforts to acclimate them to the new format, will just leave. With all these negatives, why even switch?

    The reason is simple; the benefits outweigh the costs. With Discord, we have a more comprehensive communications platform that minimizes the need for large numbers of open windows: TeamSpeak, Slack, Tickets, and the Minecraft chat. One can express their concerns easily to the staff; responses may be quicker. This does not make tickets or Slack obsolete; it allows a refinement of their roles: Tickets can be used for more important matters (requiring documentation) than "How do I get claimblocks?" and Slack is designed for developers and teams, while Discord for more casual gamers. The purpose of all these components is to further interactions within the community itself, and currently it's often too burdensome to download another application just to be able to communicate using the gift of one's natural human voice. Discord offers a browser version which should increase participation in discussion and perhaps even allow for dispute resolution in a civil setting, where the impervious anonymity granted by an Internet chatroom is replaced with a truly meaningful discussion conducted almost person-to-person. Given the great effect the human voice has on others, we should not focus on the costs, but rather the increased enjoyment, productivity, and cooperation granted by an effective communications platform. Remember that while the storm of change may be frightening, the rain it gives brings new life to the land; grass flourishes, flowers bloom, and a rainbow streaks across the sky as a backdrop to life's amazing revival. For MyM, the grass is communication, the flowers are friendships, and the rainbow of cooperation and mutual understanding tops it all off to rejuvenate the server. Indeed, Discord is an ironic name for a platform with the potential to sow the seeds of respect and understanding.

    Lastly, the financial side, while not as significant for a server of this size, favors Discord, which, like Slack, has a free tier. Unlike TeamSpeak, which charges money for more users, Discord allows you to create a free server to try it out and use. $11.50/month may not seem like much, until one realizes at the current 10-year U.S. Treasury interest rate, it amounts to a perpetual endowment of over $7000. (Interest rates vary by country; in some parts of Europe the rate is negative. Nominal rates were used for calculations. Lower rates imply a greater present value.) That's a lot of money; this expense goes straight to the bottom line of MyM (maybe not, since taxes are placed on profits, but still). Why not try something that costs nothing to start up with?

    On my relatively brief journey through the MineYourMind community, from joining other servers on the network to meeting new people, I have almost always ended up appreciating the benefits the winds of progress have brought. In front of us, on our shared journey through the river of Minecraft servership, a waterfall looms. Should we bail out and take the hard, trodden land route down? Or should we boldly explore the unknown but potentially ethereal experience we get by falling down? In the words of Robert Frost, two roads diverge in a yellow wood; should we take the one less traveled by? Yes! A thousand times yes! I encourage you to take a leap of faith with me; we are fortunate to have the option to return to TeamSpeak 3 if it turns out the bottom of the waterfall is covered with jagged rocks. Put aside your previous biases; let's see what change can bring. Let us not be stuck in the doldrums of a mediocre TeamSpeak client, but set sail for clearer water and greener pastures. Take my hand; let's jump! (I believe I can fly.... no.)

    Thank you for reading my thoughts on this matter.
    Happy mining, building, and skyblocking!

    Best regards,
    yurikha27
     
    Last edited: Jul 20, 2016
    kamild_ likes this.
  4. LucidTheStick

    LucidTheStick Well-Known Member

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    What about all the other alternatives out there?
    TS3 is rock solid and works fine.
     
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  5. chugga_fan

    chugga_fan ME 4M storage cell of knowledge, all the time

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    Lucid, the purpose is to see why people like discord, not to argue which is better/best alternative ;)
     
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  6. kamild_

    kamild_ Well-Known Member

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    ^ pretty much what I meant. TS3 is indeed "rock solid and works fine", yet more and more people switch. Is TeamSpeak actually that hard to use or sth?
     
  7. Mouro

    Mouro Well-Known Member

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    Teamspeak you need your own server, Discord is online.
     
  8. kamild_

    kamild_ Well-Known Member

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    So you think finding a TeamSpeak server is too much of a hassle for some of us?
     
  9. Mouro

    Mouro Well-Known Member

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    If you wanna like talk with one - tree person find a teamspeak server is enough, but lets say a minecraft server, you wont make publicity to another server, and discord is kinda easy to setup
     
  10. yurikha27

    yurikha27 Well-Known Member

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    No, but the TeamSpeak server costs money and the TeamSpeak client must be installed, which is a hassle and something which many players are unwilling to do. Even my TS3 client doesn't store configuration and I don't want to spend the time to fix it.
     
  11. LucidTheStick

    LucidTheStick Well-Known Member

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    Why is money even involved? Cost is a terrible division point as a first go to. TS3 works and stores configuration pretty easy. Voice quality is good and easy to use. I miss Ventrilo though =(
     
  12. kamild_

    kamild_ Well-Known Member

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    What happened to Ventrilo?
     
  13. SirWill

    SirWill Founder

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    I replaced skype with discord because of spam friend requests, performance and security issues in skype.

    If discord is mainly used for voice in a bigger community I prefer teamspeak as you can't manage the channels in discord like you can in teamspeak. (Sub channels, placeholders..) Which makes it hard to find the right channel in discord, it already is not easy in the most ts servers.
     
  14. Slind

    Slind Founder

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    Yeah, I really like discord. I mean we use slack for staff communications and discord has the same layout. The voice chat works well and users don't need to install it. There are free apps for all platforms....

    But it lacks sooo much great stuff and many features feel so incomplete. To name a few:
    - no search, a must for chat systems and a user and channel search would be helpful too
    - read sync between devices missing
    - working unread marker missing
    - channel subscription settings
    - status (online, away, dnd)
    - many of the features are lacking on the mobile apps e.g. you can't even access pinned topics on the phone
    - the voice system design is way too complicated, I have to spent 2-5 minutes for 2 of 3 new users to explain how the voice stuff works (muting, joining channels, setting up the mic..), yes teamspeak isn't much better, but the time required feels like half as much
    - E-Mail integration
    - fine grained user permissions
    - custom highlights/notifications
    - private invite (currently everyone who gets the link can join, you can't invite others by email or phone number)

    Its not a finished/solid product, so considering its heavy development state, it is great.

    I use it my self, but merely for small communities and friend stuff. For +20 concurrent users or extensive collaboration its lacking too many working features, in my opinion.

    Update regarding mobile App:
    Since I used the mobile app now for some time, I'm close to saying good bye and not looking back for a long time. The mobile App really disappointed me.
    • Messages appear multiple times
    • Messages you wrote are being reported as not delivered. When you retry it posts the message multiple times
    • Push notifications are sent after you read the content already
    • Push notifications spam, it often happens that I get 20 push notifications just from discord.
    • Clicking on a push notification doesn't bring me to the channel/message, it only opens diacord
    • Channel data is loaded one by one, so with a bad connection you wait 2 Minutes for every channel instead of once for all like with slack
    • The order of messages can get mixed up when they can't be delivered right away.
    • . . . Just a mess, makes chatting and work a pain
     
    Last edited: Aug 23, 2016
  15. Sambo_Jones

    Sambo_Jones MInecraft Addict

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    I use Discord myself, Discord is a free app, TS3 is not
     
  16. JonBirdd

    JonBirdd Well-Known Member

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    As others have said, I prefer Discord because:
    1. It is Free - That is the big hitter here.
    2. It is easy to manage, just look at a quick tutorial.
    3. You can have bots that moderate the chat: Carbon Discord Stats
    4. It looks more professional.
    5. If people do not want to download a program, they can use the in-browser app: https://discordapp.com
    6. You can view ranks on the entire player list when people are online: Screenshot by Lightshot
    7. Ranks are easy to configure: Screenshot by Lightshot
    8. No IP needed.
     
  17. Monkey_Banana1

    Monkey_Banana1 Well-Known Member

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    I would suggest trying both. The voice feature isnt as good as teamspeak. The text feature is amazing. Discord would be a good way for the players and staff to connect instead of slack. To share there opinions on everything. Staff would be easier to contact, instead of waiting 12 hours (Idek) for a staff member to help :p. I think both. But voted discord.
     
  18. HelloKittyPhone

    HelloKittyPhone Well-Known Member

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    I see people are saying that TeamSpeak 3 costs money. Well first of all, it doesn't unless you get the mobile app and not use it on desktop. It only costs like 4 USD.

    Discord may look fancier and what not, but it is a bit confusing and TeamSpeak is simpler to use.
    I'm not trying to be biased, but that's how I see things.

    In the beginning I thought TS was hard to use..but I asked a friend and he told me what to do. I followed his instructions and boom I use TS all the time (not as much as Skype though.) Sure you need to verify yourself, but it isn't hard. All you need to do is;
    Understand the English/Deutsch language.
    Know how to read.
    And be patient.

    Why people make such a big deal about it, I have no clue.

    Anyway sorry for the long post and giving my opinion like this.
    -HeroIsBoss354
     
  19. SirStudMuffin

    SirStudMuffin Well-Known Member

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    Well lets see, Discord makes my ping, skyrocket and we all know what it can get to, I mean from 52 off discord to 8,000 on discord.
    Also Squat Rule 1: People are stupid
     
  20. ben_mkiv

    ben_mkiv Well-Known Member

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    never used discord, but also never missed anything in teamspeak. ts evolved for many years, and it's probably most used by gamers, has a lot of audio codecs, so you can even use it on low bandwidth connections without harassing your latency to much.

    only downside of ts is that its closed source, but that doesnt bother most of the users.
     

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