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Personally, I like the ability to get in touch with others on a topic and get help quickly. As a Discord user, however, this relates more to the areas of operating systems, gaming and AI. When it comes to network technology or IT security topics, I see it differently. Discord has a fast pace that is due to the generations that follow me. Everything always has to happen quickly. Reading half a DIN A4 page is already too long for them. In some cases, because their concentration is already diminished. It should be clear that OPNsense and other topics are not easy, even if you can find a lot of help on the Internet. It's not something that can be dealt with quickly via a yes/no chat.

I would therefore be particularly interested to know why there needs to be a Discord. In your experience, what are the questions that are increasingly asked there? Which can apparently be answered there in chat? I would like to include them here in the forum. In case it turns out that they are recurring questions and are not yet dealt with here. In this respect, you could take up the need from there here. I don't want to go into threads in Discord, because we already have the forum character here. So it shouldn't be too difficult for someone from Discord who opens a thread there to open one here.

You raise some valid points, especially regarding the depth and complexity of topics like OPNsense, networking, and IT security. These areas often require structured, detailed discussion — something that forums like this are much better suited for than fast-paced chat environments.

That said, I think Discord serves a different, more immediate purpose. From my experience, the types of questions asked there tend to fall into a few categories:

Quick clarifications (e.g., "Where's the option to enable XYZ in the GUI?")

Troubleshooting real-time issues ("Why isn't my firewall rule taking effect?")

Basic getting-started help for new users who might be intimidated by the documentation

Sharing updates or community tools/plugins that don't yet warrant a full forum post

While Discord isn't ideal for long-term knowledge retention, it does offer a low-friction way for newcomers to engage — and sometimes that quick answer in real time can make a big difference in whether someone sticks with a project or gives up.

I fully agree that if there are recurring questions or knowledge gaps showing up in Discord, they should absolutely be reflected here in the forum too. Maybe even a dedicated thread that regularly summarizes "frequently asked in Discord" topics could bridge that gap and help strengthen both communities.

Thanks for opening this discussion — I think both spaces have their place, but with a bit of coordination, they can complement each other much better.