OpenSim Educators Turn to Discord for Communicating in Virtual Events

OpenSim, the open source spinoff of Second Life, has a small but passionate userbase (probably between 10,000-15,000), many or most of whom are educators who use the technology as a low cost teaching tool. To enhance OpenSim's limited communication features for pedagogical events, educator Leighton Marjoram has turned to the popular gamer platform Discord:

As people who use Opensimulator will know voice and chat range whilst in world is limited and is not helpful when exploring regions together in groups. Discord and the overlay helps a great deal as all the grid crawlers have to do is signup for Discord and download the desktop client and join a dedicated channel (voice and chat)... Also while on the Opensim Life grid we decided to do a group build region and we used to Discord for a private discussion area and used voice in-world whilst we were building. 

More here, along with tips for setting Discord up. For users who need a more secure and private chat channel, such as therapists who use OpenSim for RL therapy -- the US miliary, for instance, uses OpenSim as part of its therapy for personnel with PTSD -- Leighton recommends  Matrix and Riot app. 

Hat tip: Rocky Constantine.

Comments

[sirhc deSantis]

Probably between 10 - 15k (2018) or https://tinyurl.com/y7vsy5bo (2012) :) And that was the same as 2009... Lot more in OS than edu now as there was then. (Not up on MILSPEC involvement since MOSES went dark).

Admit Discord is rather neat. I know it is used in SL for a bunch of sim management stuff for its flexibility. Hell, I even subscribe to NWN on it. As well as - well all sorts as I am late to it. Fun to watch a certain grid:)

Just waiting for it to be sold on.

[LeightonVirtual]

Thank you for quoting my article just to let you know that I have added an update about encrypting discord conversations. Allowing potentially the use of Discord for therapy without using Matrix/Riot setup as previously stated in the article.