Discord tries to appeal to more general audience

Gaming community platform Discord announced it wants to appeal to a broader audience. In a new blog post, CEO Jason Citron explains Discord wants to go beyond gaming and become a place where people meet to talk:

In asking you what you want Discord to be, we heard that you want Discord to be more welcoming, more inclusive, and more trustworthy so more kinds of communities can find a home here. Many of you told us that the biggest misconception you hear about Discord is that it’s “only for gaming,” but you feel Discord’s for “literally everyone” and “for anyone who likes to talk.”

As you’ve used Discord for more and more than playing games, our branding didn’t keep up, and the way we talked about ourselves sent the wrong signal to the world, making it harder for you to bring your broader community on Discord. And we know that the first few interactions someone has with our service could be intimidating because Discord is complex with many features.

Today, we’re inviting the world in to reveal what we’ve been working on, all designed to make it easier for you to invite your communities and friends to your Discord home. And this is just the beginning.

Discord was launched in 2015 and has over 100 million monthly active users. It's set up a lot like IRC, with servers and channels, but with more features and a handy web interface and app.