Lingthusiasm now has a Discord chat server for patrons (Patreon)

Since starting Lingthusiasm three years ago, we've enjoyed hearing from so many of you how Lingthusiasm got you into linguistics or helped you reconnect with your long-lost enjoyment of linguistics. But for many of you, this also posed a problem: where can you find other people to chat with who are just as enthusiastic about linguistics as you are? 

You could, of course, follow some linguists on twitter or find a linguistics facebook group to join. But if you'd like something a little more cozy, you can come join us in an experiment! 

We've made a Lingthusiasm Discord server -- a private chatroom for Lingthusiasm patrons! We've heard good things about Discord (and there are some instructions for how to get started below), and it integrates easily with your existing Patreon account. 

Come chat about the latest Lingthusiasm episode or bonus episode, share other interesting linguistics links that you come across, and geek out with other linguistics fans. (We even made a channel where you can practice typing in the International Phonetic Alphabet, if that appeals to you!) 

Check it out and let us know what other channels we should add, what custom emoji you'd like to see (we've already added a wug, of course!), and if you're having any technical issues. Of course, a community only works as well as its members, so we're going to give this Discord thing a try for three months, until the end of April, and after that point we’ll assess how things are going and whether this still seems like a good idea. So if you like the idea of making some lingthusiastic pocket friends, don't wait around! We're excited to see that a few people have already spotted the Lingthusiasm Discord server on Discord and we're looking forward to getting to know you all better in the introductions section! 

Update, May 2020: the Lingthusiasm Discord is going wonderfully, there are over 200 people in it and lots of great conversations at all hours of the day and night, so we expect to keep it going indefinitely! Check out the Community page on our website for some of the great ideas we've added in response to your suggestions! 

We’re able to set this up thanks to our Ling-ministration goal we hit at the end of 2019, which enabled us to give more hours to our producer Claire (who you may remember from this interview last year). Claire will be in the background making sure the Discord runs smoothly. You’ll see her pop up in channels as the Lingthusiasm Discord account, do say hi! 

Announcements and new bonus episodes will continue to be posted here on Patreon as usual, but we’re always looking for ways to bring more linguistics into people’s lives and we’re excited about trialing this Discord integration. 

Using Discord

You can use Discord on a computer by going to discordapp.com and making a free account. Mobile devices can use the free Discord app downloaded from the Android or Apple App store. 

Existing Patrons at the Lingthusiast tier and higher can connect your Discord account to your Patreon account by going to to ‘my profile settings’ and then the ‘apps’ tab. You’ll see a ‘connect’ button next to Discord - follow that and sign in if it prompts you. (If you’ve already connected Discord and Patreon for another creator you support, then the Lingthusiasm Discord should already be there in your regular Discord servers list and you may have recently gotten a push notification about it!) 

Patreon has a step-by-step guide for how to connect to the Discord, including steps for people who already have an account and people who are new to the platform: 

https://support.patreon.com/hc/en-us/articles/212052266-Get-my-Discord-role 

Code of Conduct 

The Lingthusiasm Discord server is a language-peevery-free space and is committed to providing a positive and harassment-free experience for members. See the full code of conduct here.