Discord rolled out Soundboard, a new voice call feature to a small number of users at the end of last month, allowing you to play a short audio clip to use as a reaction or add custom sounds to your server. Unfortunately, Discord hasn’t set a hard limit on how frequently you’re allowed to react, leading to some truly hilarious results.
Only a limited number of people have gotten access to Soundboard, but it’s already causing problems. Discord isn’t policing the types of sounds that users can upload, though it politely reminded its community to abide by copyright laws and common decency. If you’ve ever been on a Discord server, you’ll likely understand what a futile request this is.
One user demonstrates the capabilities of the feature by hitting the “fuck you” button repeatedly. It’s funny for a few seconds. Then you start to realize how disruptive a nonstop f-bomb audio button would be to anyone who’s trying to have a normal conversation. Just look at how this user has managed to derail her server’s general voice chat channel.
It seems that you can also play multiple sounds at once, just in case a string of “fuck yous” didn’t manage to get anyone’s attention. For some, these buttons are incredibly fun to press. But it seems to be a source of constant annoyance for others. Others are terrified at the possibilities of this untested technology. “I’m hearing hentai moaning for the next three months if I join my friends,” tweeted one Discord user. Now there’s an idea that I wish I could un-know.
Fortunately, there’s some reprieve for users who value their eardrums and peace of mind. You can toggle the volume of Soundboards across your servers, so muting random f-bombs is an option. Admins can also limit soundboards to specific channels rather than allowing them in every voice chat. So hopefully, the full update won’t be too disruptive to your regular Discord experience.
“The Discord soundboard update is a really big deal for the most unfunny people in your life,” wrote one annoyed Discord user.