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Scout Discord?


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Discord would not and never has been subject to Protection acts as it's just like every other chat service... As far as BSA goes their not the ones running the Discord, though it may be related to scouting I would be able to manage it and keep it scout friendly

 

Au contraire, my young Skywalker, that platform is VERY MUCH subject to all sorts of laws and protections. A few observations:

  • If you don't think this little outfit known as the NSA isn't monitoring and logging your VOIP calls over this platform, think again.

     

  • I can set up a Trojan server and hijack your VOIP packets and save them to listen to later. That's an easy hack and how many of the eastern European hackers get bank and account info from the little gaming gremlins online.

     

  • Anything you say or chat is logged by someone somewhere. And yes, you can be held accountable in the USA, Germany or anywhere else the US has an extradition treaty with if you violate the law...ours or theirs.

     

  • Predators of all kinds reside on these sites. It is literally a playground for them. Sadly, many have exceptional technical skills and they can rip you off (or worse) before you even know you've been had.

     

  • I have some experience with this platform, keeping is Scout friendly is hard even here. Doing it on Discord will be impossible. Trolls and hackers are much, much better than you are. Trust me on this one.

 

Regarding the identity of scouts, I'm not all that concerned with what the adult leaders would in truth consider "predators"... People in the discord are subject to many open conversations and the discord will constantly remind it's users to be safe...

 

I can tell kids not to drive over the speed limit, not drink or do drugs, yet everyone someone gets in trouble for just that. 

 

I applaud the idea. But sometimes inventors have the right idea but the wrong execution. This would be one of those ideas. If you want to build a community of Scouts to chat, game and hang out, might I suggest you look at secure systems where you (or the company that hosts/offers it) can control who signs on, knows who they are and stands behind a code of conduct with the force of the law.

 

BTW, I just spoofed in to Discord on a rather forbidden anonymous server just to see if I could. Log files wide open. It is that easy. Remember...

 

STEINERinternetdogs.jpg?uuid=Cn7v6vmREeK

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Well the NSA doesn't want me... Nor am I a child when it comes to technology... Yes I may not be able to prevent everything, but making sure the security is there and enforcement and all that is in place is helpful. I am glad you all are helping to put your 2 cents into this, but I think it's worth a shot to at least open the discord and have a go... It can be a small and limited community with minimal contact... Besides, only few invites to the discord will be given out. I'm not too concerned about the Logs since it's not my platform and I didn't make Discord, so security issues is not my problem, although still keeping everyone aware is a goal to assess... Cybersecurity will be something I can look into as a programmer... I may give Discord a buzz and see what their priorities are. But again I am going to put this idea in motion for now. 

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My plc just set up a discord server and it is working out great. I'm not sure why but they communicate more when there's an app involved. It supports being goofy and limits it because they can only type so much.

 

As for making a huge scout server the idea sounds cool. Being able to make new friends in far away places is what ham radio is all about. You're just trying it with different technology. But I'm wondering about the details. With 100k users it might be hard to keep a thought in focus. Once in a while I watch this giraffe in NY and there's a stream of messages flowing on that I can't imagine anyone being able to comprehend. There's also the issue of people using it for reasons you don't want - spammers, trolls, phishing, etc. I think it can be solved but it is a big deal and it needs to be solved.

 

How about this: start small and grow it. Set it up, go to round table, announce it to the troops in your district. Let it grow. See what the problems are and fix them. Find other districts. Repeat. Picking districts far away from you could be a fun way to find out about new places to go on high adventure trips.

 

I'd be interested in knowing how it goes.

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Nor am I a child when it comes to technology... 

 

Remember to be humble. We all thought we knew everything when we were 16 too. Then we found out later how wrong we were. Many people on this forum have been doing heavy-duty tech stuff for over 30+ years. Keep the passion but always remember: Developers of tech plan, plan, plan, test, plan, test and then execute. We never assume security or legal/regulatory issues away. The end user experience is always on our mind.

 

Even the best planned tech can have devastating results with just one mislaid assumption. Great example.

Edited by Col. Flagg
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I started my techie adventure in 1968 when I took Computer Science in college.  Chain printers, mainframe only and keypunch cards.  Yes, I have used a first out PC where the computer, screen and keyboard were all one piece.  I was upset when I had to move off DOS and start using a mouse.  And yet there is a whole new world out there that I haven't the foggiest idea what they are up to.

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