A loner's experience with Discord

<==> You are sitting on your pc browsing through your favorite anime list site when you see a [[notification-> Notification]].

<==> The person then sends you a Discordance server invite link. You click on the link and suddenly, you're greeted by a screen filled by (link-reveal: "a flurry of text and busy-looking sidebars left and right")[ (from your years of using a computer, you instantly develop a dislike for this interface.)]. Soon you're greeted by some people on the server, including the person who invited you in the first place. After (link-reveal: "catching up with all that text")[ (skipping the parts where random people you don't know introduce themselves with their real name and country - haven't these people heard about private information?)], you see that one of them asks you what color you prefer. You (link-reveal:"answer")[ (being a bit bewildered on what they'd do with that information)], and the next moment you see your username painted with the color of your choice! Afterwards you are asked by the person who invited you which color mode you use - dark or light. Hmm, what's this question for? Let's reply anyway: [['I use the default, which is dark.' -> Dark or light? default choice]] [['I use dark mode, as I love it for everything. It's the best thing ever since sliced bread!!!' -> Dark or light? Dark choice]] [['I use light mode, as dark mode tires my eyes and it has also been scientifically proven to be more taxing for the eyes.' -> Dark or light? Light choice]] At any rate, after that mini-debate you are mostly left to absorb your surroundings. [[Here's what you observe.->Adaptation difficulties and quitting the server]]

<==> Like a fish out of the water. This is how you start feeling soon afterwards. You see some people posting random (link-reveal: "emojis")[ (as is the name for emoticons these days)], most of which you don't recognise, others posting random memes you don't get, and yet others saying (link-reveal: "random stuff")[ like for example how (link-reveal:"Pesona")[ (insert number here)] is the best videogame (link-reveal:"ever")[ - and you've never played any game from that series, so you can't know if that statement is true or not]]. And all these at a flurrying pace, that leaves you metaphorically panting to catch up. This is most definitely (text-style:"underline")[not] what you were hoping when you joined this whole Discordance thing. You were hoping for meaningful interactions, not this time-wasting stream of thoughts with no real content nor meaning. You remember how in school you were mostly left watching the various conversation wells that cropped up and that time you stupidly went to a university party and spent most of your time in a corner. Meanwhile, the person who invited you posts to your private chatroom saying: "Btw when is your birthday? Just want to know for celebration purposes.". 'Celebration', you think? 'I don't even know if I'll even be here in the next few minutes, much less in the months till my (link-reveal: "birthday")[. And besides, celebrating my birthday - such an important day - with a bunch of strangers? I'd rather not].' You reply sharing (link-reveal: "the first of your worries")[ (about the whole if you'll still be there thing)] and they reply back saying that you shouldn't be prejudiced negatively - that if you think you won't stay, you'll make it (link-reveal: "a self-fulfilling prophecy")[ (they didn't say it quite that way, but that's what they meant)]. You reply back at them saying how you don't feel you can fit in there, spilling (link-reveal: "all the inner thoughts you had earlier")[ (though rephrasing 'meaningful' to 'thought-out' and omitting the time-wasting part so they aren't offended)]. You additionally tell them to feel free to delete you from the server, so at least someone else can use the color of your username. They reply "All right then. Take care." and you log off, feeling empty inside. You are tempted to just delete your Discordance account altogether. [[Delete it! -> Ending 3: account deletion - on a negative note]] [[Don't delete it -> Ending 4: True end - more neutral note]]

<==> So you make a Discordance account, and send a friend request to the person. They accept it and then you are both added to a chatroom with only you and them. You talk some more, and you're kinda (link-reveal: "enjoying it")[ (given how you haven't talked to anyone other than your parents for a while)], when the person says that actually they have a Discordance (link-reveal:"server")[ (after some thought, you conclude that it's probably kinda like a chatroom)], and would like you to join it. They said that in there is a fun, albeit rowdy, bunch so you'd have fun too. What do you do? [[You say "Sounds cool I guess. I'll join the server."->Joining the server]] [[You say "It doesn't sound like I'd be into this sort of thing, so I'll pass." -> Ending 2: No involvement 2]]

<==> You specify that you normally prefer dark for websites, but light for the OS and for serious reading, and some other person (apparently the resident light mode aficionado) congratulates you for your excellent taste, which leads to the person who invited you to chide you to not give that person fodder for their pro-light mode arguments. (link-undo:"Back to the main story")

<==> The person who invited you congratulates you for your excellent taste, but some other person (apparently the resident light mode aficionado) complains on how so many people haven't seen the light of the light mode. (link-undo:"Back to the main story")

<==> Some other person (apparently the resident light mode aficionado) congratulates you for your excellent taste, which leads to the person who invited you to complain by flooding you with memes "proving" light mode doesn't work anywhere, ever. (link-undo:"Back to the main story")

<==> That person replies with "I understand. Take care." and doesn't send anything ever again, so you continue on your life with peace and quiet, though sometimes you wonder if maybe you missed an opportunity to socialize more. Nah, probably not... THE END (1/4) (link-undo:"Back to another choice")

<==> Afterwards, the person says "I understand. Take care." and doesn't send anything ever again. It seems like they just wanted you to join their server and all that chatting before was to lead into that. Feeling kinda duped, you log off Discordance and continue your normal life in peace and quiet. THE END (2/4) (link-undo:"Back to another choice")

<==> You look up on how to do it, and see that you also have to delete (link-reveal: "the server that was created")[ (the private chatroom you were into with that person earlier)]. You log back in, gather your wits and delete both the chatroom and the account. It feels kinda cathartic and you afterwards continue your daily life in peace and quiet, albeit not without looking back on that experience as one of your bad ones. THE END (3/4) (link-undo:"Back to another choice")

<==> You first look up on how to delete your Discordance account out of curiosity, and see that you also have to delete (link-reveal: "the server that was created")[ (the private chatroom you were into with that person earlier)]. You think back and realize that you'd rather not delete that discussion, because it was still part of your past and deleting it would be equivalent to deleting a part of your past. You decide then to keep the account, but not log in there ever again. You afterwards continue your daily life in peace and quiet, albeit not without looking back on that experience as one of your bad ones. Though sometimes, looking back, you think it could have gone better if maybe you had a different temperament. TRUE END (4/4) --- Thank you for playing!

<==> Clicking on it to see what it is, it seems like you have a new comment on your profile, and it's from someone you don't know. Being (link-reveal:"curious")[ (you don't receive comments that often after all)], you read the comment. The gist of it is that this person, having looked at some profiles, judged from yours that you'd be interesting to talk to. You talk back and forth a bit, and after a little while that person says they prefer using (link-reveal:"Discordance")[ (you've heard that Discordance is something for instant messaging or something, and all the rage with kids these days - you're nearing your thirties yourself, so you aren't exactly old, but the way internet culture goes, you feel a million years behind all those zoomer kids.)] for communication and invited you to send them a friend request over there, giving you their username so that you'll know where to send it to. You don't have a Discordance account however. What do you do? [[You say 'Sorry, but I don't have a Discordance account and don't plan on making one either.' -> Ending 1: No involvement 1]] [[You go make a Discordance account.->Further talking to that person]]