Have you ever been chatting or gaming on Discord when the server suddenly goes completely down? Completely stressful, am I right? I have been there, as a mod it can be really stressful. Of course, you can solve down time and pull off a container mod in complete control. Here is how I do it.
• Bots behaving oddly – If there are sudden errors, it usually indicates a problem.
• Slow server performance – If you happen to have more than one user trying to connect at the same time, your server will start to slow down.
• Maintenance notifications – Discord will sometimes announce planned downtime.
If you pay attention to early signs, you will have the opportunity to reload or act. Have you ever seen the “Server Status: Partial Outage” notification? That is a sign it is time to investigate.
• Delegate - Have one person check messages, one person check bots, and someone else can just monitor server status.
• Have backups - If you have other bots, or another admin account, it will help when things go sideways more than once (and if you're in the right headspace to sort that).
• Note your incidents - Write in moderation log what happened so that next time you don't have to rely on your wits to figure it out.
You shouldn't have to do everything by yourself - it's really useful to have a team to assist you to plan your moderation.
Look For Early Signs
Spotting problems early is the best approach. Servers typically provide subtle alerts prior to crashing. Keep an eye on:• Bots behaving oddly – If there are sudden errors, it usually indicates a problem.
• Slow server performance – If you happen to have more than one user trying to connect at the same time, your server will start to slow down.
• Maintenance notifications – Discord will sometimes announce planned downtime.
If you pay attention to early signs, you will have the opportunity to reload or act. Have you ever seen the “Server Status: Partial Outage” notification? That is a sign it is time to investigate.
Tell Others ASAP
When there is downtime, silence is the worst. Users will panic if they don't know what is going on. I always:- Post a short update in a popular channel
- Keep message friendly and honest, ie "Hey everyone, we're having issues with the server. We are fixing it!"
- Use status bots or pinned messages for updates.
Stay Calm!
Mods, please stay calm! Don't panic? Things will get worse. First off, here's what I do:• Delegate - Have one person check messages, one person check bots, and someone else can just monitor server status.
• Have backups - If you have other bots, or another admin account, it will help when things go sideways more than once (and if you're in the right headspace to sort that).
• Note your incidents - Write in moderation log what happened so that next time you don't have to rely on your wits to figure it out.
You shouldn't have to do everything by yourself - it's really useful to have a team to assist you to plan your moderation.
Learn For Next Time
After the server is back to normal, take time to decompress and review the incident:- Was this issue preventable?
- Which tools or bots failed?
- How can we improve next time?
