Discord - "EZ Electricity" and "EZ Growing" Channels

[Theodore Baggins]

I've noticed that the global chat can end up pretty clogged with people asking for help with electrical, plumbing, and planting questions. I always want to help, but sometimes I have to log off or I'm in the middle of something else and don't see messages.

For a solution I was thinking about the model that most US states: a "Cooperative Extension" that has "master gardeners" and such to help share tips and tricks with new gardeners and farmers. In addition, they post their own gardens to help inspire others and show off their work. 

I was wondering if it'd be possible to add a channel for planting and one for electricity to Discord. This would could be a great resource for new players, those who are farming for the first time, and even experienced players who might need to check and see if there is a recurring bug. It might also help clean up the help and main discord channel as well, by crowdsourcing answers and making sure simple questions don't get buried. It might also activate the EZ forums by encouraging more thorough showcases of players' builds with Rustrician links and multiple screenshots. I love seeing how different players have solved things like automated recyclers!

 

[Theodore Baggins]

I was thinking that there might also be a need for a "EZ Hardware" or "EZ Performance" channel. I find that I often am giving performance advice through chat. However, sometimes that advice is the same—like check your VRAM and RAM usage to see if you're overflowing to RAM (or worse, your drive).

I'm a huge advocate for squeezing more performance out of your older hardware instead of saying "you just need better <insert component here>". Moderation might be difficult—after all, there are still Team Red, Blue, and Green die-hards that might not give the most helpful (or friendly) advice. Clearly explaining the tradeoffs requires nuance that might be beyond a discord response.

However, I think that it'd be good to start somewhere, see how things go, and adjust accordingly. It might be am idea that flops, but I genuinely want to try to help players who are having a rough experience on the servers.

Edited September 7 by Theodore Baggins