Meta introduces a new way for the nearly 3 billion Facebook users to connect with each other. In the coming weeks, the business plans to expand the availability of Community Chats, a feature that will allow Facebook and Messenger groups to host discussions on their favorite topics. In addition to the usual text conversations, community chats will support audio and video channels and allow administrators to broadcast messages to their groups.
Since Meta envisions you using Community Chats to communicate with people outside of your immediate social circle, admins will have access to a handful of moderation tools to ensure conversations stay civil. An “Admin Help” feature will allow them to create a list of words and phrases they want the platform to automatically flag and take action on. Admins also have the power to block, mute, and suspend people who don’t follow their community rules. They can also host admin-only chats where they can talk privately with their moderation team.
If all of this sounds familiar, it’s because Meta is effectively replicating how Discord works. On Discord, you can join that are organized around a single game or interest, and it’s even possible for admins to create multiple sub-channels for people to discuss specifics of their interest, much like Meta will allow Community users to do. Chat. Even the moderation tools that Discord has released in recent months to combat trolls.
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