Use invidious - https://invidious.private.coffee
Use revolt - https://revolt.chat
Use matrix - https://matrix.org
Use LINUX! - https://www.linuxmint.com
Sources: https://invidious.private.coffee/watch?v=1yUj_Jdis6E
https://redlib.kylrth.com/r/discordapp/comments/11ihqq6/discord_will_possibly_record_your_video_calls/
https://redlib.kylrth.com/r/privacy/comments/jlggdx/how_much_of_a_privacy_concern_is_spotify_nowadays/
I understand! I know there is a lot of hype about Discord, especially young people love it. Despite all the features, isn’t Discord just a chat software? Reading your answer, I think you are looking for a forum software (not chat) 😄 Have you looked at Discourse? It is open source, offers a modern, hierarchical structure with categories and subcategories, extensive permission systems and role management. It is specifically designed for larger communities and allows easy management of moderators and admins.
That would be great, but I also do like having chat channels in addition to forum channels. And voice chat is one of the most important parts of the whole thing, but I didn’t mention those because matrix does text and voice chat just as well as discord. And I agree discord is popular among younger people. Though all of the active people in my community are in their 20’s through 40’s, I think we have maybe 1 or 2 people under 18 which we technically do not allow but we have exceptions for them.
Most of our members we met through online gaming, and it’s a lot easier to get a gamer to join discord than it is a website based forum or a platform they have never joined (matrix, etc).