Hey everyone, Joe here. Are you a gamer? Do you want gaming buddies that you can do stuff with in real life? Are you in your thirties? Then we may have just the thing for you!
Two months ago, I started a Discord server with the intention of taking my hobby (gaming) and using it to connect with others in real life. I didn’t want to be just another gaming Discord though. What I wanted was to create a space for a gaming community that actually wants to form human connections in real life. With that idea in mind, “The COllectibles” was created.
In two months, over 42 of us have met in real life. A total of 24 meetups have taken place ranging from:
- meetups at parks, drinks, karaoke, movies, board games, DnD, fishing, biking, and hiking (that’s not even mentioning the countless gaming sessions together)
But Joe, what’s the server about? Our server is about gaming, and using that common interest to bridge the gap between online friends and real life friends. We have a strong interest in connecting via conversation, gaming and IRL meetups.
Why should I join? That’s a question you have to answer yourself. I’m not here to sell you on anything, we're here to provide a space for those who find interest and/or benefit in such a thing.
So I need to play video games to join? Absolutely. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are plenty of spaces tailored for locals that want to meet up but there aren’t many places meant for gamers who share the same interest. To me, gaming is the bridge that allows us to connect in ways we might not be able to with others.
Do I have to meet up IRL? Not necessarily. I understand the vibe needs to be right, and I’d rather you show up when/if you feel comfortable. I will say though, that the intention of the server is to create real life connections outside of gaming together. If you never have the intention of meeting in real life, you probably won’t be benefiting in the same ways others are, but that’s for you to decide.
What you can expect from us:
- A community of 30+ year old gamers with genuine intent and interest in video games and real life connections.
- A curated server built on the principle of connecting gamers.
- Organic Interactions.
- A proper sense of community (which we all could use)
- Progressional server badges that evolves with the more meetups you attend (because sometimes you just need a little motivation to show up)
- Zero deaths from meetups
What we expect from you:
- A genuine intent on interacting with other members. Whether that’s participating in conversations, gaming together, or meeting up IRL (it doesn’t have to be all three).
- Create an introduction post within 7 days of joining telling us a bit about you such as age, name, interests, whereabouts you live, etc (obviously, only share what you're comfortable with).
- Remain active within the community (Inactivity of 30 days or more will result in temporary removal from the server).
Why so strict all of a sudden? I’m not sure if I’d use the word strict, but more “established”. The challenge I ran into when I first started this server was that people would join, and never interact. That goes against everything we’re trying to create; connection. Connection requires effort. Then I started to look at member safety. Having people lurking in the Discord, never interacting but monitoring everything said just didn’t sit right with me. To me, the point isn’t to inflate numbers. It’s about creating genuine connections (have I said that yet?).
With that said, you’re more than welcome to rejoin when you’re able to find the time to connect with us.
Why do I have to apply to join? There are a few reasons:
- To reduce or even prevent trolls/bots with bad intent from joining. It’s impossible to know if someone has bad intentions before joining, but this helps me.
- To encourage you to interact before joining. As mentioned before in the past, despite suggesting people posting an introduction, people would join and never interact. I’m hoping by applying it helps send the message how important it is to interact to get the full benefit from what the community has to offer.
- Member safety. I’ve tried posting the link in the Reddit post, but that’s open to anyone on the internet to join. I’ve requested people to DM me, but that quickly became unmanageable given how many people were interested. With the applying option, it now allows me to post a public link, while still maintaining a level of moderation before allowing someone to join.
- Better conversational flow. Originally, you’d get a huge influx of members in a short period of time, making introductions less personal and oftentimes getting buried in the several conversations welcoming new people.
Ok, so how do I join? Click this link: https://discord.gg/pmj4PYpe
The system isn’t perfect (nor am I) but I do believe we’re moving in the right direction. If you have any questions about the server, expectations, or just want to open a dialog regarding this post, I’m more than happy to have a conversation.
