When comparing GOG vs Discord, the Slant community recommends GOG for most people. In the question“What is the best digital distribution platform for PC Games?” GOG is ranked 6th while Discord is ranked 10th. The most important reason people chose GOG is:
GOG refuses digital rights management on principle.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro DRM free as a rule
GOG refuses digital rights management on principle.
Pro Seasonal sales
gog features summer and winter sales every year and offer quite a lot of games at lower than retail prices.
Pro Client is completely optional
You can either download games directly from the site or use their Steam-like client, GOG Galaxy.
Pro Occasional free games
Every so often, GOG will have a game listed as free to add to your account.
Pro Money back regional pricing
GOG may charge more in some regions as publishers request so. But in those cases they give the extra cash back as credits for buying another game.
For example, the lowest price for the game is U$20 in US, but if in your region it costs U$30 they will give you U$10 back as credits for your next purchase.
Pro Money-back guarantee
If GOG can't help you fix a game, you're free to refund it within a month of purchase.
Pro Excellent support
Support is handled by an in-house team working for the company, and staff are knowledgable about their platform and games.
Pro Good puzzle games
You can find puzzle games like Superliminal and the Myst Series on this website.
Pro User friendly
Discord follows the same type of interface design popularised by Slack, which is extremely clean and attractive, and doesn't clutter the interface with unnecessary chrome and cruft.
Pro Free for unlimited users
Unlimited amount of users.
Pro Can be used in browser
Users can invite others to join a Discord channel via a web link, which means no installation is required to use the software - which is one of the big typical barriers to entry for social software.
Pro Good 1-click invite system
Discord allows inviting people to a specific channel with a link. Links can be set to expire. Low effort/passive invite mechanics.
Pro Easy setup
You can quickly send invites to people and they can join in using the web client without having to create an account or install the app.
Pro Has low-latency VoIP support
Pro Supports video and text communication
Behaves and looks like Slack for regular text channels, but with the ability to create voice channels as well
Pro Numerous controls for setting member roles.
Deny access, Deny write message, Allow read messages etc.
Pro Ability to create bots
Discord provides an API for creating custom bots.
Pro Open source bots and management tools
Discord has a wide variety of bots for things from airhorn noises to automated server management, to leveling systems for chat. The bot API is open and there are dedicated sites for finding bots.
Pro Game integration
Discord shows which game each user is currently playing, which among other things helps users to form PUGs with minimal hassle.
Pro Dark theme out of the box
Pro Familiar for Slack users
For those that are used to the way Slack (a similar chat client) works, Discord will be familiar in its use, which lowers the learning curve quite a bit for those that have switched or tried Slack before.
Pro Low effort invite mechanics
Pro Android app has push notifications
Pro Syntax highlighting and Markdown support
The support is limited but still exists. It's a killer feature for dev teams.
Pro DDoS mitigation
Discord prevents users from being DDoSed out of games.
Pro Targeting of roles
Targeting roles allows for quickly requesting someone from a group e.g. artist, moderator, etc.
Pro Ability to thread channels
Ability to create channel categories for channels to sit inside of.
Pro Friendly payment policy
Free account have no tangible restrictions.
Premium account is just a way to say "thank you" to developers. And it work for all servers of discord (not as in slack). And it can be purchased by one who wants. In contrast to Slask, where all active members of the server should be "premium".
Pro Language localization
Have localization for many language, including Russian.
Pro Does not allow NSFW related things to be posted unless in a NSFW channel
Cons
Con Linux games distributed as installation scripts
Installation scripts have a lot of bugs and dependencies. Packing games in archives would be better. Extracting archives from installation scripts is possible, but difficult.
Con Many games only for windows when they also have a native Linux version
The Linux library on Steam is far bigger than in GoG, many titles have its Linux version both in Steam and its respective web page, but GoG only lets buy the Windows version.
Con No Linux client (yet)
They say it's coming. And meanwhile you can still install Linux compatible games directly.
Con Limited, often dated, library selection
Con No compatible support with (Steam) achievements
Steam has achievements that many appreciate. Unfortunately, those same achievements are not available when you buy the GOG version of the same game.
Con Proprietary software
Discord is closed-source, meaning their code isn't available for inspection or reproduction
Con Based on Electron = eats a lot of ram
Con Some functions cut out and available only with "Nitro" subscription
Con Developer's previous company was sued for privacy violations, among other things
See:
http://classactionlawsuitsinthenews.com/class-action-lawsuit-complaints/openfeint-green-international-privacy-class-action-lawsuit-complaint/
https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/cases-proceedings/closing-letters/openfeint-inc
Discord's privacy policy also states that while they might not sell your data, a company they get sold to will quite possibly attain said data and thus may be in "more" shady hands.
Con No self-hosting avaliable
Discord is wholly hosted by Discord (the company), you cannot run private instances, and all servers are hosted on their infrastructure. For most people, this won't really impact their usage.
Con Not a generic "team chat" tool
All the UI and the features are aimed specifically at communicating with your gaming team/clan.