Reminder Regarding Permissible Links

#99

There is no way to stop this no matter what someone will find a way around it.

2 Likes
#100

There are plenty of use cases for discord’s webhooks on Roblox, for example they’re useful for putting some infrequent information on a discord channel that your developers can read. Either way, this is straying off-topic, Roblox is not going to white-list Discord links on the website just because you can use their services through HttpService.

1 Like
#101

This really sums up the thread really well

So so many developers use discord as a way to engage and interact with players on a regular basis. It’s helpful for many developers to post an update, share feedback and bug report. There’s no worry of this sentence getting filtered

“Hey anon80475429, I found 3 bugs in your game and this is why this is broken X Y Z i think it would A B C if E F G did A S D” is pretty much unreadable on the site.

Over 990+ posts later and the filter allows bad words and still blocks legitimate ones

It’s stated YouTube and Twitter are okay etc etc and I just wanted to point out that I’ve clicked various links on the site that link to twitter and then to something NSFW or disgusting. I have seen some nasty nasty links through Twitter/YouTube and it’s just so frustrating that something like discord isn’t allowed and Twitter is?

It seems so frustrating to not give us the tools to empower (what ROBLOX stands for?) and engage with users in a lot of ways and then we as a community collectively find a great solution and in response to this, ROBLOX now wants to can it and not provide us an alternative?

Sorry, I have a discord link in my public twitter or as a default template on a YouTube video, I’ll be getting moderated now I guess. I’ve heard a lot of angry comments outside this thread in response to this and it would be a real shame if developers finally walk because this was the straw that broke the camels back. I want ROBLOX to know how much this upsets me and probably every other developer here - there’s a mass ripple and disturbance going through the community right now.

I don’t suppose it’s possible to get an update on that ‘floating FE/UGC’ policy also while we’re here because we still worry about that also, some say your game will get moderated if someone inserts a dong into your game and it’s not FE enabled some say you won’t. UGC is shown to ‘not be moderated’ in games despite constant reviews of that happening. All these policies seems to float/shift constantly and this is the first one that actually got documented for once.

70 Likes
#102

As said, at the end of the day the user and developer will find away around these wonky ‘rules’ whether that be through posting a discord link via twitter, twitch, or youtube. Roblox should be making it safer to share popular links that’s used by hundreds of thousands of players rather then trying to completely banning the links. For some reason everything from the comment section, to forums categories, to viewing players in servers, to the filter system ends in the entire thing getting either censored to heck or deleted completely because there never seems to be a decent resolve… it’s time Roblox should work to actually better the player and developer experience in this matter, not censor us more.

22 Likes
#103

I think roblox is open for alternatives, but maybe they just didnt think of any

But roblox really needs to understand how many devs use discord for their games. Its practically a branch off of roblox

6 Likes
#105

Hey everyone,

I collected a few of the questions folks here asked and went out looking for answers. I’m back with these! :slight_smile: - Please remember, I’m just a messenger and I’m definitely taking everyone’s feedback/suggestions into account and sending it to folks internally.

FAQ

First, I would like to mention once again. This rule has always been listed and this is just a reminder to let our devs know about how we are going to be actively removing these from game descriptions.

This announcement is a reminder in regards to the rules on the Roblox website. We have a different set of rules for the Developer Forum.

aka, you may post off-site links on the Developer Forum as long as the content is following the rules listed here.

This rule also applies to Discord ID, for example: Discord: fd43g or Discord tags NightWind#3245. The point is to not post with the intent to encourage Roblox users to go to Discord or any other off-site links except the ones which we currently do allow (Twitter,YouTube and Twitch)

Yes, older content on the site can be reported, and if inappropriate, removed and result in a moderation action. We understand that in the case that the content is very old this can feel unfair and that people are concerned it could count against them for DevEx or other future opportunities. In most cases this content is not egregious and is unlikely to affect your eligibility for such things. We’re looking into other solutions for the removal of this type of content. If you feel a moderation action taken against your account was incorrect, you can email appeals@roblox.com and they will look into it further.

Am I allowed to directly use a Twitter link to advertise a Discord link?
Using a twitter link to directly give a Discord link is not allowed. Example: twitter.com/nightgaladeld/777637475753

btw the twitter link posted above doesn’t go anywhere intentionally :wink:

Please feel free to message me privately on the Developer Forum if you have any further questions or concerns.

14 Likes
#106

This happened to myself and @WentLimited as well, it does seem ridiculous that we’re receiving punishment for such old offenses.

4 Likes
#108

Roblox’s strictness on off-site links seems like it’s for kid-friendliness PR reasons rather than being based on how the sites are actually moderated, since as many others have stated, you are 100% allowed to swear and post certain other content on Twitter/Youtube/Twitch which would not be allowed on Roblox, yet those links are still allowed simply because they’re the big-name sites that everyone knows.

I hope that the group system rework will be placed at a much higher priority if Roblox is going to continue blocking off-site community building tools. Roblox has been hinting at the group rework for over 2 years now, but it keeps getting pushed back again and again. As it stands right now, Roblox groups are a mess, and it’s near impossible to use them to build up a constructive community. Hopefully this time the rework will actually come soon, rather than Soon™. If the on-site tools are finally made good enough, perhaps we will no longer have a need to redirect people to 3rd-party sites.

50 Likes
#109

So I can get banned now for pinning a Soundcloud link to my song on my Twitter?

31 Likes
#110

I love how they posted it under a Roblox account because they knew it would piss everyone off, lol.

56 Likes
#111

And the night before a holiday, no less. Doesn’t seem to bode well for how much our feedback is going to be heeded.

24 Likes
#112

Truly, everyone will bypass this discord policy. I honestly think if you’re gonna allow all those other sites like Twitter, at least allow discord. It’s our means of communication and I wouldn’t be here without it. I have grown on discord using that to interact with other developers for help.

Please let us use discord codes, I don’t even care about the links.

37 Likes
#113

The thing I don’t think ROBLOX is understanding is that doing this will do more harm to ROBLOX than good.

Discord has become an essential staple of the community. Players have been able to talk to each other and get together more easily thanks to discord. Communities on ROBLOX has grown immensely. Developers have even used Discord to benefit their games (berezaa’s Miner’s Haven being a notable example, which actually allows players inside the Berezaa Games discord to gain in-game rewards from activating a daily code received from the discord, which would not have been possible had he not told his players about it through ROBLOX). The community has grown exponentially ever since groups and individuals started using discord, and discord has become one of the primary ROBLOX community websites outside of ROBLOX itself, alongside Twitter and Twitch in popularity among users.

This will do absolutely nothing to benefit that community. In fact, it will do a lot against it more easily. Gaming communities will die out because of ease of lack of communication discord provides. Developer groups will be harder to organize without being able to tell them their discords and get together. The overall fan bases games have built upon the website will decay as a result of developers not being able to talk with their fans through discord and send them there.

I have this one thing to say: I seriously hope ROBLOX reconsiders their plan of action. There have been some choices I seen them make in the past (like their plan to remove the colors from avatars) that would have slightly affected the community if put into action…but THIS, this is a whole new level…this is something that would not only damage the fan bases on ROBLOX, but something that would make a mark within it so deep that the entire community of ROBLOX would slowly crumble apart from the inside out. For the sake of ROBLOX and everyone playing it, I hope they realize the consequences this choice will outcome with.

26 Likes
#114

This is unacceptable. Get it together Roblox.

14 Likes
#115

An academic article was written about my group in a publication from Duke University. If I wanted to share it with my group how would you suppose that I do that, @Roblox?

https://www.faithandleadership.com/teens-online-church-draws-young-people-around-world

13 Likes
#116

I feel I need to make a summed up version of why this decision is the worst decision ever.

First, let’s start off with what the actual OP said.

Wait, what? Let’s break this down.

  1. Looking to find the "best balance between enabling creative and social experiences, while also ensuring a safe and friendly working environment for everyone?"
    • Discord is by far the best example of a social experience. Discord is made as a hangout for users to communicate with each other and play games with each other. Obviously, there is more to Discord, but that’s one aspect. If you are saying Discord isn’t a social experience, you are misinformed.
  2. "Since Discord’s Terms of Service only allows people aged 13 or older to use their platform and Roblox is a platform for all ages, we cannot risk unfairly exposing underage users to platforms such as Discord." … "We understand the argument can be made that YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch all have similar policies regarding users under 13, but these platforms also allow users to browse without logging in, while Discord requires you to have an account so people aged 12 and under cannot see the information you are linking. This is the primary reason we are not able to allow it."
    • There are so many things wrong with this statement.
      1. Yea. You are right. YouTube, Twitter, and Twitch all have those policies, much like Roblox. Yet kids lie. It happens. You can’t put anything past ‘em. It’s not the companies’ fault, it’s the parents’. Nothing you can do.
      2. Discord does allow you to view content without signing up. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWkr5krbLwU
      3. How does the fact that a website allowing you to view content while not being required to sign up GOOD if that website requires you to be 13? It makes no sense. It’s like you are encouraging users to go to Twitter, not sign up, and then not complain if they see inappropriate content whilst not being signed up. If you are required to sign up to view content as Discord supposedly is, then isn’t that GOOD in terms of security? If the user lies, it’s on them; not Roblox.
  3. "We are in the process of reviewing all game descriptions and old forum posts for Discord links and will be removing these descriptions and posts over the next few weeks. If you think that your post or description has been incorrectly moderated, please email appeals@roblox.com with the information on your game and your concerns."
    • Only concern with this is that these posts that get moderated receive a warning or ban. If a post gets moderated for something that WASN’T a rule and that person gets banned, that is completely unfair and will guarantee players and developers leave.
  4. "We’re aware that our current chat / messaging and group systems do not allow developers to do all of the things they want for the player communities they’ve established and we are actively working on creating better features and tools in hopes of resolving this. In the coming year look for announcements from us regarding improvements and changes to game description, chat, and group functionality."
    • If you KNOW that Discord is relied on by SO MANY developers, why would you restrict access to it? If you KNOW it doesn’t provide what Discord does, why remove access to it? It’s completely absurd. Discord provides core features for a functional community, and most especially for developers. I will get to this later. Discord has a clean UI, amazing moderation systems. bots, etc. that enhance communication, moderation, keeping the server safe, etc. Discord also has many games using it VERIFIED, such as Minecraft, World of Warcraft, League of Legends, etc. Why does Roblox have to be the odd-ball in an ever-so increasing world of online communications?

Now, let’s get into what HASN’T been said in Roblox’s original post.

  1. Discord is by far the best thing to happen to Roblox. It allows for such amazing communication among communities. But, most importantly, it allows for communication among developers. Before Discord, SO MANY developers worked alone because there was nothing good to communicate with fellow developers. Roblox has it’s ####### ###### ### filter and other applications are just… bad. But now, with Discord, there are becoming more and more TEAMS of developers, getting closer and closer together.
  2. So many gamers use Discord. It’s just a fact now. If you ask in-game “who has discord,” an insane amount of people say something along the lines of “I do,” “me,” “add me @_____#____,” and it’s just unfair for those that just want to play a game with their friends.
  3. A lot of development communities have centered around Discord. For instance, take Hidden Developers by @HeadlessHorror. The Discord server has such AMAZING creations posted by members, and we do quite well keep it PG and abiding by Roblox’s rules. I see nothing wrong with this amazing aspect of Roblox development.
  4. People will just bypass it. It’s just a fact. So many people use Discord, it’s insane. Additionally, look at the number of people that bypass the other rules; posting links to other websites.
  5. Banning users from linking a Discord server on their Twitter, YouTube channel, etc. is completely out of jurisdiction and will just result in developers leaving.
  6. Can’t you just like… oh I don’t know, just block ALL links for ONLY users <13. Obviously, block links for 13+ that are rated triple-X, but is it really necessary? If these websites are for 13+ only, then block it for <13 and allow it to be seen by 13+.

I could put much more, but this is already quite long.

TL;DR This decision was by far ONE OF the worst made as it’s just ruining communities and teams of developers.

64 Likes
#117

In my opinion the last 2 sentences are slightly over exaggerated. Roblox functioned fine without Discord so I don’t think it will slowly crumble apart from this change.

3 Likes
#118

Well it would definitely suffer a huge drawback from the previous year that much is certain.

6 Likes
#119

I agree.

#120

Hello Developers,

We hear your complaints. We don’t like to impose restrictions to your ability to manage or build communities without offering any alternatives. With that said, I highly encourage you to post feature requests geared towards improving the tools we do offer for this. Improving the platform for developers is an important goal, and the best way to accomplish this is to ensure you have the tools at your disposal to be successful.

Your feedback is appreciated,
Lilly

16 Likes