The Discord Support web page rat hammerandchisel.zendesk.com reached via iOS app Settings link needs redesign for clarity and accuracy

What follows is an e-mail exchange which started with a letter I submitted through the support pages online.  Since the agent suggested I create a Feedback post about  it, the simplest way is to simply include the full conversation up to that point.  Read letters from the bottom up.  I understand if it's too long for much of the community here; I'm posting it here only because of the agent's suggestion.  All I wanted was for the information to be passed on to the relevant web developers/maintainers, which I was told has happened :) .  Frankly, they ought to understand and value the merit of correcting the language on their websites for explicit clarity to avoid visitor confusion without this, so I'm not putting more effort into rearranging or shortening this posting.

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Kerstin (Discord)

Nov 30, 2023, 03:37 PST

Hello Customer,
 
Thank you for your detailed feedback and suggestions regarding the sign-in process for our support page through the Discord app.
 
We understand how the current design may cause confusion since the support account is separate from the Discord account. It's certainly a valid point, and we appreciate you bringing this to our attention. I will make sure to forward your observations and recommendations to the appropriate team for review and consideration.
 
It would also help if you could vote up the suggestion at feedback.discordapp.com, since feedback contributes greatly to our decision-making of which features and fixes to implement in the future based on what our community wants! We are always looking to improve our users' experience, and your feedback is valuable to us.
 
In the meantime, if there are no further issues at the moment, I will now close this ticket. However, if you encounter any other difficulties with the app, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are here and ready to assist you!
 
Wishing you a wonderful day and please take care of yourself!
 
All the best,
Kerstin
 

Customer

Nov 30, 2023, 01:24 PST

Hi, Kerstin, thanks!  The instructions you gave confirm what I could only 
suspect, regarding the separate systems.  Not the reason for them, but the 
fact of them at least :) , which is all that's really needed.

All well and good.  But since the support web page says, "Sign in to 
Discord", how about suggesting to someone maintaining the page that they 
correct that?  After all, it's perhaps *technically* correct since it's also 
a part of the greater Discord entity, but it's 100% misleading -- especially 
when someone gets to it from within the app which accesses what "everyone" 
(note the quotation marks) thinks of as "Discord".  The natural thought, 
mine anyway, is, "But I'm ALREADY logged into Discord.  Why didn't it just 
pass me through, instead asking me to log in again?"

They should change that text to "Sign in to the *Discord Support System* 
(this requires a different account than the one used to log into the Discord 
apps and website)", or something equally explicit and correct if they'd like 
to tweak the precise verbiage.

Also, "click the _Get a password_ link.  Provide your Discord email address, 
and then you will be informed that a _password reset_ link has been sent." 
(emphasis mine) is also misleading and inappropriate.  Speaking in shorthand 
is fine when all parties know the whole context and understand, and it can 
become an instinct when you're immersed in it all day all the time; but it's 
harmful to the persons coming to that page for the first time, as now.  If a 
person is creating an account and password for the first time, they should 
not be told they are being sent a "password reset" link!  I'd get that, and 
stop dead, then leave the app and go to search the web (as I did), 
dismissing that part of your app as broken.  After all, I didn't want to 
/change/ the password that was working just fine to get me in and out of 
Discord on multiple devices!  ...  To make sure this feedback stays relevant 
and accurate, I've just re-opened that screen...

I think part of the problem may be one of context.  The verbiage on that 
screen from hammerandchisel.zendesk.com /seems/ to have been written under 
the assumption that anyone reaching it would have done so from a particular 
context (a specific link, having done something else first, certain type of 
need, whatever).  If it can be accessed for multiple reasons and from 
multiple starting points that change the context, then it must be designed 
as a reactive page that alters the text presented according to the overall 
context.

I've already pointed out that "Sign in to Discord" is a poor choice of words 
from the outset, and why.  The two input fields and "Forgot password?" link 
and "Sign In" button are fine. "Emailed us for support?" is not, because it 
is at least not appropriate for /all/ contexts.  I hadn't e-mailed for 
support; I was looking for support for the first time, as will (and have, 
I'm sure) many others.  "Get a password" is fine, but the question before it 
should be replaced with something more like, "If you don't have a Discord 
Support account, ".  That should cover all bases, whether or not someone has 
also e-mailed you for support :) .  That last line, the question and "sign 
up" link -- are those for "Discord proper" or for "Discord Support"? Since 
the page is already introducing a context beyond the default, it HAS to 
become explicit in its references to be most useful and avoid all confusion.

Now, follow that "If you don't have a Discord Support account, Get a 
password" link.  The next page starts with "Please set me up with a new 
password". THAT is accurate, and good.  Then it goes on to say, "To reset 
your password", which is bad, right after the first.  There IS no password 
to /reset/ if this is a "New account, New password" page.  This page should 
be only for that; there is a "Forgot password?" link already, on the 
previous page, so if somebody has forgotten their password, they should use 
that link instead. /Alternatively/, and since I checked and confirmed that 
both links come to the same page, this page's text should /instead/ state 
that "This page is for creation of new Discord Support accounts (different 
and separate from Discord accounts) *and* for resetting forgotten passwords 
for those accounts. The process is the same for both."  Sharing the same 
code and page is /fine/ and efficient, but the UI (user interface) has to 
reflect that :) .

While they're at it, the previous page's two links can be combined with 
similar text:  "Forgot your password, or need to create a new Discord 
Support account?".

By the way, you sent me the URL <https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us>. 
However, I was discussing a different support venue, one accessed from the 
app.  It's in the subject line I set up, the one-line description: "/The 
support page's sign-in, accessed from iOS app's built-in link, does not 
accept legitimate credentials./"  Get hold of an iPhone with the Discord app 
installed, and follow the steps I outlined.  While that interface exists, it 
needs to be good for the users who find it :) .  That's what I've been 
discussing.

That's all to pass on the people maintaining those zendesk pages and/or the 
app developers.  I don't really need any more help or replies, myself.  I'm 
just trying to help Discord's user base by helping Discord.  Have a 
wonderful always, Kerstin!
-- Customer

Kerstin (Discord)

Nov 29, 2023, 05:00 PST

Hello Customer,
 
Thank you for reaching out to Discord support! 
 
I'm sorry for the confusion with logging in to the support page. Just to clarify, your login credentials for the support page is different from your Discord account. However, you still need to use the same email address but you need to create a different password.

To log in to the support page, follow these steps:
 

• Go to https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us
• Click Sign in at the top right corner
• Instead of entering your email and password, click the Get a password link 
• Provide your Discord email address, and then you will be informed that a password reset link has been sent to that email

 
I hope this helps! Feel free to reach out if you have questions. 
 
Cheers,
Kerstin
 

Customer

Nov 29, 2023, 04:43 PST

The support page's sign-in, accessed from iOS app's built-in link, does not accept legitimate credentials.

iOS app|Settings|Support|Support takes you to a zendesk.com web page in the app. Multiple failed attempts using the correct credentials led to a letter from Customer Support, to which I replied as follows:
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This letter below was generated because of a problem in your software -- somewhere. To explain ... In the latest version of the iOS app running on an iPhone 7+ -- see bug report "[Discord] Re: 41380384" for more details on my app & system. I'm sending this letter from another device -- I opened the main app Settings (using profile image button on the bottom toolbar when the server list is open). I used Settings|Support|Support to try to contact you to submit a bug report. It opened a "Sign in to Discord" web page (on Zendesk.com) in the app, and I tried to sign in with the same credentials I use to log into Discord -- YES, I multi-checked for typos, and logged out of the app to sign in again, confirming that I had not forgotten my username and password. The correct credentials were not accepted by a page telling users to sign in to Discord -- one presumes that means to use the same credentials one uses to log into Discord.

I wound up submitting that other bug report through Discord's website. But I figure that responding directly to this message should be good for the error that spawned this message in the first place.

You're Welcome (genuine, not sarcasm or snark),
-- Customer

On 11/29/2023 12:23 AM, Support wrote:
>
> Hi,
>
> An account already exists for Discord using this email address. To access it, you can sign in or reset your password.
>
> If you didn’t try to sign up for a new account, you can safely ignore this email.

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Helpfully Yours,
-- Customer