Discord Threads: New Side Conversations & Auto-Archive Feature

Discord Introduces Threads for Enhanced Server Communication

Following an earlier announcement and previews on Twitter, Discord is now launching a highly anticipated feature designed to improve clarity within active servers.

Beginning today, servers with “community” features activated will gain the ability to organize messages into threaded conversations on both desktop and mobile platforms.

These threads are identifiable by unique subject titles, facilitating the segregation of tangential discussions into focused, smaller exchanges.

Creating and Accessing Threads

Users can initiate a thread by selecting a newly added hashtag icon within the message context menu, or by utilizing the plus sign in the chat bar and choosing the “create thread” option.

The feature will be automatically enabled across all servers by August 17th.

Discord explained in a blog post that the intention is to help communities remain engaged without needing to suppress conversation for the sake of organization.

Entering a busy channel can often “feel like walking into the middle of three different movies,” and threads represent an evolution of the reply feature introduced last year to address this issue.

Instead of occupying the entire screen, Discord’s new threads open in a split-view pane, naturally functioning as supplementary discussions.

Threaded topics will also be visible in the channel list, and selecting them from the list will open them in full-screen view.

Automatic Archiving and Private Threads

Threads will automatically archive after 24 hours of inactivity, preventing channels from becoming cluttered with outdated or irrelevant chats.

Servers with a boosted subscription can extend this archive period to one week, providing members with more time to participate in pertinent side conversations.

Furthermore, boosted servers can establish private threads, which are not displayed in the main channel list.

These private threads are exclusively accessible to users who are directly added or mentioned within the thread itself.

This design allows users to conduct group conversations without requiring pre-existing friendships, potentially benefiting moderators needing to facilitate one-on-one or small group discussions.

Moderation and Permissions

Discord provides moderators with control over who can create threads within a channel.

Permissions can be assigned to allow channel members to utilize private threads, manage threads, or simply participate in public threads.

Note that the “send messages” permission must be enabled for users to create new threads.

Threads will function identically to standard channels regarding moderation bots.