[ssddanbrown]

I do this for my open-source self-hosted project. The reality is that Discord provides a good experience, with good controls for a community, in a way that's friendly and easy to access for many. Additionally it saves me the hassle of hosting something.

I don't see it that differently to using GitHub for hosting the code. In terms of privacy at least it's fairly clear to users, wanting to chat, that their data and content will be owned by discord. Users have the choice to enter the chat or not, it's not required to browse the website or use the software.

[sneak]

Anything web-based is easy to access for many. I wasn't suggesting IRC, just avoiding corporate spyware (the same reason we self-host).

Using GitHub is also bad, for similar reasons, even leaving aside the fact that Microsoft provides services to those who operate concentration camps.

Gitea, Mattermost, and Discourse (not Discord), all self-hosted, will serve your community better in the long run.

[ranger_danger]

github is not privacy-friendly either.