CGOWCA Pilot Project – A Community Forum

Starting in November 2024, the Convent Glen Orleans Wood Community Association will be launching a new pilot initiative: a community forum (minus the Facebook algorithm). I wanted to share some of the reasons we wanted to try this out for the community and what we hope to do to keep it as a safe, productive space for residents and anybody who is invested in making our community a great place to live.

You will be required to use or create an account using the messaging platform called Discord to access the forum.

What is Discord, and Why Are We Trying This?

Discord is really great to keep communities in contact with each other, and while I’m not going to explain too much about how it works here, this is a pretty solid yet brief 2-minute explanation: What Is Discord?

First and foremost, the reason to create a ‘public forum’ space like this for the community when we already have a large and bustling Facebook group is pretty simple. Once you create an account (or if you have one already), you can open the Discord app or website and navigate directly to a dedicated space where you can see everything the particular community group has to offer. There are no algorithms in anybody’s way, no scrolling long feeds to make sure you didn’t miss anything you care about, and you have a chance to get to know your neighbours who share your interests and passions.

A Sense of Community

We will be experimenting with different ways to verify members who join actually live in the area and assigning those members appropriate roles in the group. We would also like to allow people who want to participate in the group to remain publicly anonymous (or at the very least keep some level of privacy) if they would prefer that, as long as they abide by our community guidelines, of course. There will be no (reasonable) limitations on the kinds of things you can post (like stopping self-promotion or fundraising), but we will try to help ensure users stay on topic within the various channels we have created.

What We Have Planned

We have lots of ideas for the community already, but we are also taking suggestions for ways we can improve or allow new discussions to take place. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of the things we’re planning to have:

• A list of channels based on loose neighborhood boundaries, so you can post something relevant to a specific part of the community association’s catchment area.
• An active events calendar for things to do and see in the community.
• An area for sharing local news, community information, and public notices.
• An area for promoting yourself or fundraisers, giving things away, or selling things you don’t need.
• A suggestion ‘box’ where anybody can share their ideas to make the group better.
• Topics like municipal zoning and city budget, to engage in civil and open discussions about our shared spaces
• Resident submitted ideas/posts/articles for the website and newsletter
• More to come!

Above all, we aim to have this space represent the very best of our community, where you can get to know the people who live in your neighbourhood and be exposed to diverse viewpoints. We are looking to get volunteers to help out with moderation (hoping it will not be necessary), and who can also assist with keeping things up to date. You can join now by following the link below: