Discord Strategy

Policy

Discord is controlled infrastructure, not product surface.

Discord provides authentication, notification delivery, and audio transport. It is not a community, social network, or peer-to-peer communication channel. Members interact with the platform through the bot and the relay app. Member-to-member interaction is an unintended side effect of the transport layer, not a feature.

Roles

Discord serves five roles for the platform:

Role	Description
Authentication gateway	Discord identity = platform identity. Invite-based onboarding with auto-role assignment.
Broadcast channel	Bot posts game events, news, announcements. Members read.
Command interface	Slash commands for data queries. Responses are ephemeral or role-gated.
Audio transport	Stages for live calls during games. One-to-many broadcast.
Notification rail	Push notifications for game events via Discord's mobile app.

Discord is not a community, peer network, support channel, chat room, or the product itself. The relay app is the product.

Channel Visibility by Role

Two live calls channels exist with different content and access levels.

Channel	Minimum Role	Content
Primary Live Calls	Full Member+	Real-time, undelayed game feed
Fantasy Live Calls	Fantasy Member + Admin	5-second delayed game feed
Stage (Live Audio)	Full Member+	Live audio broadcast
Announcements	@everyone	Read-only pre/post-game briefings
Forum / News	@everyone	Read-only RSS news threads
Bot Commands	@everyone	Slash command execution
Rules	@everyone	Read-only server rules
Team Preferences	@everyone	Read-only cross-team links
Moderator	Admin+	Private admin channel

Enforcement

Restriction	Method	Script
Fantasy cannot see Primary Live Calls	view_channel=False overwrite	fix_channel_permissions.py
Full Member/Scout cannot see Fantasy Live Calls	view_channel=False overwrite	fix_channel_permissions.py
@everyone + Fantasy cannot connect to Stage	connect=False overwrite	harden_permissions.py
@everyone cannot send in read-only channels	send_messages=False overwrite	lock_channels.py
@everyone cannot reply in forum threads	send_messages_in_threads=False overwrite	lock_channels.py

Stage Access Policy

Stage listening is part of the premium (Full Member+) tier.

• @everyone: denied connect and speak
• fantasy_member: denied connect and speak
• full_member, scout, tester: granted connect, denied speak
• admin: granted connect and speak
• Stage text chat: disabled
• Raise-hand: disabled where possible

Design Rules

These rules apply to all code changes across all leagues (NHL, MLB, MLS, FIFA):

1. Never build features that facilitate member-to-member interaction
2. Never expose member names, counts, or IDs in non-admin contexts
3. Never create cosmetic or vanity roles
4. All member-to-admin communication routes through bot commands (/feedback)
5. Discussion channels are OFF by default (toggle: discussion_channels)
6. Channel permissions default to deny; grant explicitly per-channel
7. No on_message handlers that respond to member content
8. Bot reacts only to slash commands and system events

Migration Trajectory

Over time, responsibilities shift from Discord to the relay app:

Responsibility	Current	Target	Timeline
Game event feed	Discord + relay	Relay only	When app adoption is sufficient
Slash commands	Discord	Relay commands tab	Partially migrated
Live audio	Discord Stages	No change	Indefinite
Notifications	Discord push	App push	When push infra is ready
Auth	Discord invite	App-native auth	Long-term

Discord Stages remain the audio layer indefinitely.