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Discord Rejection Email (twitter.com/bill_bicknell)
27 points by pram on March 22, 2019 | hide | past | favorite | 14 comments



I was rejected by them on an Elixir position about 1 year ago. I don't recall anything specific from the email (so probably it wasn't the same one shown on the Twitter thread), but honestly I wouldn't feel any different if it was. Of course this is a 100% personal reaction, each person reacts differently, and being such a sensitive moment, it's just good sense to be extremely careful with the wording.

ETA: I also have nothing against their wording in general. It feels more personal and less enterprise-y. Given their target audience, it seems a good choice.


Just read their patch notes, Discord is like that

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/discord/id985746746?mt=8

>- GIFV autoplay now supported. Is it pronounced GIF-Vh or GIF-Vee? Don't get me started on how to pronounce the G.

>- Added a fancy, in-line upload progress indicator for attachments. No more wondering if your images got lost in the void. We brought the void to you.

>- Fixed a bug where fresh app installs messed with invite codes. Step into a new server from your freshly-installed app like leaving that first footprint the morning after a snowstorm. cronch

>- Add, delete, and edit emojis directly from mobile. Organize your memes like a well-kept spice rack.

etc.


And their entire UI too. The company is run by furries and 12 year olds. (Which sorta makes sense now that I think about it).


Hi! I work at Discord. I am > 12. In fact, no one here is 12! The narrative that Discord is run by 12 year old and furries is a hateful and toxic narrative that is fueled by an angry Twitter mob. Surely you don't count yourself in that group, do you? :P


Honest question, granted you’re not 12, and I don’t care if you or your colleagues are furries or whatever. What I’m curious about is how you or anyone you work with could think that rejection email was anything other than cloying, obnoxious, unprofessional and just vaguely demented? It wasn’t funny, it wasn’t interesting, and yes everyone gets it you work on a tech for people who play video games, but they’re presumably not playing them in a locked-down unit.

So wtf? Errr... I mean, wtf “kooloo limpah”.


I wrote a longer message but I deleted it out of fear of speaking inaccurately. So instead: Discord has a brand voice. Some of us will find it "cloying" and "vaguely demented." However, others will find it funny. Our user base has continuously reinforced to us that they are in the latter. I pray that they are all not demented or in a locked-down unit, but I can't guarantee that.


Yeah, and when addressing your userbase I can see how that’s very much a choice Discord is free and fairly making. Failing to draw a distinction between “stuff said to fans” and “rejection letter contents” seems like a real problem to me.


I use and like discord but pretty much everyone I know thinks the 'brand voice' is extremely annoying. It would be really nice to at least have the option of not being subjected to it during the 30 second loading splash screen every day.


I don’t even have a twitter account. I don’t need to be told what’s obvious: that all of your text (UI, help, support...) is childish, immature and simply cringe-inducing.

I’ve read about your support team allowing “cub porn” (ie child porn for furries) somewhere else, but that’s an entirely different matter.

Also I don’t care about being called “toxic” or “hateful”, mister “:P”.


We have a brand voice. It doesn't appeal to everyone. We also have a clear TOS that clearly delineates our position on cub porn, and if you're interested in a policy debate on this (hint: we're more restrictive on cub porn than even Google) I'm more than interested in pointing you to some interesting reading material! And, since you brought it up, I'm not a "mister."


For those who didn't know (like me), Partner is basically their influencer program, see https://discordapp.com/partners


In general it would much better if companies put the words Rejected or something similar in their email subjects.


I disagree. By not putting it in the subject line, the recipient can wait to open the email, and make a conscious choice about where they are both physically and mentally when they learn the outcome. If it's in the subject, then you learn it immediately when you happen to check your email. If it's bad news, it could throw you off your ball right when you need to be focused on something else.


The worst part is the guy whose rejection to his job application was in the same style. How disrespectful.




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