# 话语的创造性用法

**URL:** <https://meta.discourse.org/t/creative-uses-of-discourse/112251>\
**Category:** Community Building\
**Created:** [2019年三月21日 14:34 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creative-uses-of-discourse/112251 "2019-03-21T14:34:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 2

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**Author:** ![FoohonPie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/foohonpie/32/119648_2.png) [@FoohonPie](https://meta.discourse.org/u/FoohonPie)\
**Post date:** [2019年三月22日 08:54 UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/creative-uses-of-discourse/112251/2 "2019-03-22T08:54:16Z")

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I run an online game that’s been around since 2000, and we use Discourse in a way that maybe isn’t obvious or “typical” for most forum solutions.

* * *

> **1. I dissolved my mod team and now rely 100% on post-flagging.**
>
> We have a history of waaaaay over-designed processes for moderation, and a whole lot of drama to go along with it. Since training our players to use flagging, moderation has become a breeze largely because it now happens without much staff involvement at all.
> 
> This has been a huge win for gamedev time not only because the community takes care of itself, but also because I no longer incur the overhead of managing a team.

> **2. I replaced the mod team's game-design duties with a trust-level-based Think Tank**
>
> Through trust levels, the people who become “[The Team](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/groups/team)” are indirectly dictated by the community itself instead of by existing staff. This group is our TL3, just renamed. This has been well received as very empowering for our players.
> 
> Instead of The Lounge, they get a private forum where we have more thoughtful conversations about our game’s issues, development, and our public roadmap.

> **3. We use badges to redirect negative feedback energy into productive bug reports and ideas.**
>
> Our players can be grumpy, and some even downright hostile about changes we need to make. I’ve found success in using 2 automated badges for posting bugs and ideas, called [Creative Thinker](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/badges/103/creative-thinker) and [Bug Hunter](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/badges/107/bug-hunter), respectively. This is complimented by a manual badge awarded for actual code changes made as a result of the posts, called [Change Maker](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/badges/105/change-maker) and [Exterminator](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/badges/106/exterminator).
> 
> This has had a profound impact on how players express their feedback. Instead of being angry or frustrated, they now feel hopeful and proud to display these badges.

> **4. We use Discourse's wonderful API to improve ingame communication.**
>
> We have groups and private forums for the different teams in the game. It’s round-based, so this ends up being a constant change to grouping of long-time players. Setup now happens without any manual effort on my end. It just works alongside our game’s existing player-grouping logic.
> 
> We similarly provide a “Congress” forum for elected team leaders, that is also fully automated and in sync with the game’s voting mechanic.
> 
> Lastly, we use the API to inject topics directly into the game’s interface:
> 
> ![imperial-conflict-discourse](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/meta/original/3X/4/d/4d74798c5597d2eeb0e67d42e99cd4e55312e16e.jpeg)

> **5. We use Discourse as a community wiki.**
>
> Our players are obsessive about our lore and in-game war history. We previously relied on MediaWiki but are now porting over to Discourse. The experience has so far been great, especially with [DiscoTOC - automatic table of contents](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discotoc-automatic-table-of-contents/111143)!
> 
> As an example, here’s a wiki page on a war that happened over a decade ago. This is incredible user content: [https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/t/clash-of-the-titans/4844?u=i\_like\_pie](https://discourse.imperialconflict.com/t/clash-of-the-titans/4844?u=i_like_pie)

* * *

Individually, these might not sound too crazy, but I’d imagine that Discourse did not set out to have such a large effect on a game like mine. I also run a community for other gamedevs who run similar games, and often recommend Discourse specifically because of how it can elevate the experience we provide to our players.

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