Do I need a Discord server for my indie project?

These days, Discord is a popular and convenient method of communication for both voice actors and project creators. It’s extremely common for producers in the online/indie realm to create a Discord server where they post updates about their project and have the cast and crew get to know each other. Some even use the servers to distribute scripts and have people turn in their recordings.

However, plenty of voice actors who work in this space can tell you horror stories about endless pings, ridiculous requirements, drama among contributors, and unnecessary all-team meetings, just to name a few. Some even admit that they simply mute all project servers and wait to be reached out to directly if something is actually needed. “I personally use Discord for marketing work or personal stuff which means I will be a part of too many servers—-I currently am at over a hundred,” admits Aika Intong. But others - especially those who are newer in the space - may enjoy the chance to make new friends, meet the others on the team, and feel like a more integral part of the project.

If you’re considering making a Discord server for your project and inviting voice actors, here are some tips to put your best foot forward.

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Never make prospective voice actors join your server just to audition for or get more information about a project.

Inexperienced producers sometimes do this for a number of reasons—-perhaps they find it easier to have all their information in one place, or they want to bolster their numbers. However, voice actors largely find it irritating and a waste of time to join a separate server just to audition for a role they may not book, or - worse yet - just to see which roles are available! Put this information in a Google doc or something similar and link that when sharing your casting call on other Discords or social media instead.


Once cast, consider whether it’s really a requirement for voice actors to join the server.

Let’s assume that by this point, the voice actors have already been cast in your project and confirmed their roles. Do they really have to join the server? Most likely not—-things like sending scripts and receiving lines can be coordinated individually via e-mail or DMs, and may actually be more efficient that way. Voice actor Sam Slade explains, “In my experience, a lot of the servers I’ve joined were made before final scripts were even completed and the project sometimes ends up getting abandoned, but the expectation is to stick around anyway “just in case”. I’ve started asking to pass on Discord servers and requesting all project-related info to be sent via email for 1) record and reference purposes and 2) so I can treat the job the same way I treat my other jobs and not have the line blurred between Discord (my social messaging app) and work.”

The best scenario is to offer an invite to your actors in case they wish to participate, but to avoid making it mandatory. However, if you decide it is mandatory, try to make it as painless as possible by utilizing the tips below.


Keep categories clearly organized, and avoid channel bloat when possible.

The primary purpose of the server should be for your team to communicate about the project. “Discord has been an excellent way to 'catalogue' my cast (both voice and art) and reach out to them directly,” says Jack Magus of Team Kyoshi. A few off-topic channels are okay, but if members are faced with a gigantic list of channels that are barely active, they may be less inclined to check them. When in doubt, start with the basic necessities and add new channels when you find you actually need them.


Establish some basic ground rules, and have at least one trusted moderator besides yourself.

Whenever you create an online space for groups of people to interact in, it is always good to set some basic expectations for how people should conduct themselves within that space. Have a strategy in case something goes wrong, and do not be afraid to warn or remove individuals who cause undue problems for your team or project. Larger servers for game companies usually have at least one "community manager"---this may be overkill for a small indie team, but it never hurts to give mod privileges to someone in the server you trust, so that you can focus more on making your project.


Limit @ everyone pings except for truly important announcements, and consider “opt-in” roles for any other pings.

Pinging “everyone” may seem like a great idea whenever you have updates to communicate. However, overusing this feature may irritate members of your server - especially if you’re pinging constantly for things that don’t even pertain to them - and can actually have the opposite effect by causing people to tune out or turn off these notifications. “Your cast and crew do not need to be reading paragraphs of unrelated text that have no bearing on our job in the project,” says Vanessa Benoit.

Voice actors have said that one of the worst offenders of the @ everyone feature is when it is used for things that have no relevance to the project—-for example, dropping a meme, telling people a game is starting, or even a project creator giving random updates on their personal life! “I don't want to be scrambling to open my notifications every time thinking it's important, just to find out someone is just streaming a random game on Twitch,” says Brittany Ann Phillips.

Consider the following alternatives when you’re tempted to ping @ everyone:

• Assign roles specific to each member’s job. For example, you could have separate roles for “Voice Actor”, “Artist”, “Programmer”, “Tester”, etc. When you need to communicate something important that only involves one team of people, ping that role specifically.
• Set up “opt-in” roles—-for example, if people do want to be pinged when social voice chats or cooperative games happen, let them sign up for a role and simply ping members who have that role when something is happening. There are various Discord bots that allow users to self-assign roles.
• Make an “updates” channel where important announcements are posted. It’s a good idea to make this channel read-only so that updates you want people to see aren’t drowned out by commentary.
• Consider whether using @ here would be more appropriate. “Here” will only ping those who are around on Discord at the moment, instead of members who might be asleep, at work, etc.

Avoid mandatory check-ins or other “activity” requirements.

Many people are busy with work and real-life commitments, and also have other projects they’re currently working on. It is not reasonable to expect actors to be proactively checking your Discord server to see if they’ve been assigned lines yet, nor is it fair to ask them to be posting and commenting on your server daily or “reacting” to updates. If something is truly important, you can ping them (within reason) or send a DM or e-mail.


Do not rely on a channel in the server as your only method of letting actors know when a script needs to be recorded.

“As a freelance VA, I’m actually in a thousand different servers. If you don't ping me, I'm not gonna see it,” says Joey Sourlis. It’s best to reach out to actors individually via e-mail or DM to let them know when something requires their immediate attention, such as a script needing to be recorded or a session needing to be scheduled. Handling such matters via e-mail can also help voice actors better catalogue their to-do lists, as it’s easy for such things to be buried on Discord and forgotten about.


Have a backup method of contact, such as e-mail, for important tasks that require action.

Sometimes people’s Discord accounts get compromised or they get locked out of an account due to two-factor authentication. It’s always a good idea to have e-mail addresses on hand, or at the very least social media accounts, in case you suddenly lose contact with one of your cast.


Voice actors generally do not need to attend team meetings.

You may find team meetings to be necessary for people who are doing day-to-day development work on your project, but for the most part, voice actors’ job begins and ends with recording the lines for their characters. Having another team member sit in on a live session is fine, but don’t force your cast to take unpaid time sitting through meetings while others go over parts of the project that largely don’t pertain to them.


Any (unpaid) rehearsals should be optional.

If you are largely working with beginners and hobbyists, they may find script readthroughs to be helpful for practicing their skills. However, this is not the norm in the professional world, and many working actors will not have time to participate in such activities. If the goal is to be able to provide feedback, you can do that by having live-directed sessions with your cast members for the actual project recordings. And if you really want the cast to record their lines together, it can be doable, but will require a lot of scheduling coordination especially if you are working across multiple time zones. Perhaps the worst offender of unpaid time-sinks, however, is forced improv—-voice actors should never be required to get in a call and make up lines to “get into character!” As the project director, you should be providing fully written scripts and giving enough context to where voice actors do not need to participate in a rehearsal.


Social activities are fine, but should also be optional.

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to set up a game night, movie night, or stream for your project team. But remember that everyone has different levels of comfort when it comes to interacting socially with the rest of the cast or crew. It doesn’t make someone less committed or less valuable if they opt to simply do their work and leave it at that!


Use discretion when it comes to handling sensitive information.

If you need to collect any personal information from your team for purposes such as contracts or payments, this should be handled privately with each individual. Do not put this info in a spreadsheet or server channel that everyone has access to. Also, if an actor is using a pseudonym or going uncredited, be careful about sharing their identity with the rest of the cast unless you know they’re okay with it. If you’re posting project assets that are not public yet, make sure your team knows to keep them confidential.


Keep drama off of your server as much as possible.