Discord Opens Communities to Google While Reddit Moves Behind Login

Two of the biggest community platforms are moving in opposite directions.

Discord is making its Discoverable Servers searchable on Google. Public server pages roll out November 16, and selected conversations could appear in search results from mid-December.

Finally, those useful answers buried inside Discord channels might become discoverable.

Reddit, meanwhile, is moving towards a logged-in experience. It plans to test login requirements in selected markets to improve engagement and reduce scraping. Search visitors may still get access to linked posts.

I find the timing interesting.

Discord wants more visibility. Reddit wants more control.

For anyone building a customer community, this raises some interesting questions:

• Would you make all your public community discussions searchable on Google?

• Does putting content behind a login improve retention or hurt growth?

• Are we moving towards an open web or a more closed internet?