==Message for the Discord (Posting this at the top so that it will be clearly visible in the #forum channel)==
Announcement -- @Anyone who'd care to participate: Three hours from now I'll be inviting those on the Discord to discuss their thoughts and feelings on the current state of the Discord, so I would ask the members there to please refrain from jumping into this discussion on the Discord until 9:00 P.M. GMT. Also, my apologies to any of our members in European/Asian time-zones that might not be able to participate; feel free to send me a PM through the Discord if you are not registered on the forums but would like to participate, and I can add it to this thread if you'd like. Again a reminder that 9:00 P.M. GMT is when I'll be opening discussion on the Discord.
====CT Discord Discussion====
I will be opening this thread here on the forums, and will also pose the question on the Discord itself, as it seems to me the two are inseparably linked: The CT website links to the Discord, and the Discord has a designated channel that links back to the CT forum.
So, getting down to business, why open the discussion in the first place? The easy and simple answer is that it simply hasn't been done (at the very least not within the last five months, which is the length of time I've been active here). And it seems to me that there are likely to be a wide variety of opinions and experiences to draw from; I of course have my own opinions, but ultimately find them of very little value when taken in isolation. The Discord was not made for, and never should be subservient to, the opinions of any one individual or tribe. I am certain there is a wide array of thoughts and feelings on the matter that will shed light on the subject in a way that simply discussing the issues in private between members/mods/admin cannot accomplish. However, undoubtedly there will be some who will ask, "Why open a discussion on the forums at all? If you want to talk about the Discord, do it on the Discord."
There are two main reasons for this:
Firstly, I am aware of multiple individuals registered to the forums that have departed the Discord for reasons I will not guess at; I would much rather ask them directly to share their voices here if they are willing or wanting to be heard. Having departed the Discord already, their voices cannot be heard there, and yet "the voice of one crying out in the wilderness" is often the voice that those living in the town and castle walls most desperately need to hear. Secondly, the forums allow those who might feel uncomfortable speaking in the often fast-flowing and highly opinionated discussions that take place on the Discord to have their voices acknowledged in the first place.
Moving on, I would like to address what I perceive to be the two main audiences for this discussion by addressing those no longer on the Discord first:

• 1) To those members who joined the Discord but later found it best to depart, what were your reasons for leaving? I am not asking anyone to name any names (if such a dynamic was even at play), but please be as specific as you feel comfortable being in describing the factors that led you to leave. Which types interactions or discussions drew you into the Discord in the first place (if any)? And which pulled you out of it? And perhaps most importantly: which factors do you think could be changed to make the Discord a place you would want to return to?
• 2) For those who are currently active or inactive members of the Discord and its channels: what are the factors that draw your presence there in the first place? Is it for a general sense of community? Personal relationships built up over months and years? Do you consider it to be a good place to discuss CT in real-time? A good place to discuss CT's alternatives? And lastly, what do you feel are its current problems, if any?

I welcome any and all civil discussion regarding this topic, so if anyone has something to say on the Discord or its dynamics that isn't covered by the above questions, please feel free to do so. In framing the questions towards these two separate groups, my goal is not to be divisive, but merely to acknowledge that the split is real and deserving of discussion, and I encourage anyone to share their opinions here 🙂
In order to give people time to participate if interested and to wait for an hour in which there should be higher traffic on the Discord, I'll be opening up the discussion there at 9:00 P.M. GMT