Introducing the freeCodeCamp Discord Community
Since 2014, freeCodeCamp has been on a mission to help people learn to code for free. We‘ve created 3,000+ tutorials and a curriculum spanning 2,000+ hours that has helped more than 40,000 people get their first developer job.
One of the most powerful aspects of the freeCodeCamp experience is the supportive global community of millions of people learning to code together and helping each other along the way. freeCodeCamp members connect through everything from the freeCodeCamp Forum where people post questions and feedback, to local study groups in cities around the world, to our active social media presence.
Today, we‘re excited to announce a major expansion of the freeCodeCamp community with the launch of an official Discord server.
What is Discord?
Discord is a free voice, video, and text communication platform that‘s become a go-to hub for online communities, especially in the gaming and tech worlds. Discord has over 250 million users and 6.7 million active servers, including many of the world‘s most popular developer communities.
So what makes Discord such a great fit for freeCodeCamp and our community? Let‘s dive into some of the key benefits and features:
📈 Proven scalability and reliability
With over a quarter billion users, Discord has proven itself to be a stable and reliable platform even for the largest communities. Many developer-focused Discord servers have tens or even hundreds of thousands of members.
For example, the Reactiflux Discord which is focused on learning and discussing React.js has over 100,000 members and regularly hosts large events like AMAs with the React team. Others like the official Python and Rust servers have over 50,000 members each.
Discord uses a modern tech stack including Elixir, React Native, and Rust to ensure snappy performance and minimal downtime. They‘ve invested heavily in infrastructure designed to scale to millions of concurrent users.
🌐 Global accessibility and use
Discord is available across all major platforms including Windows, macOS, iOS, Android, and directly in web browsers. Their mobile apps have 4.8/5 star ratings on both the App Store and Google Play.
The interface is translated into 28 languages and Discord‘s user base spans 200+ countries. This wide accessibility aligns perfectly with freeCodeCamp‘s global community in every country.
🛠️ Deep feature set for community building
Over the years, Discord has continuously evolved with new features and customizations specifically geared for growing communities and online collaboration. Just a few key ones:
✏️ Markdown-enabled chat with code blocks: Discord supports Markdown formatting in messages, including syntax highlighted code blocks. This is a huge plus for being able to share and discuss code snippets.
🌎 Voice and video channels: Communities can set up always-on voice channels or scheduled video meetings and interviews. freeCodeCamp could use this for hosting AMAs, webinars, code reviews, and more.
⚙ Granular roles and permissions: Admins have deep control over permissions and customizations, from setting up different roles like "Moderator" or "Core Contributor" to controlling exactly who can post in which channels.
🤖 Bots and apps: A rich ecosystem of bots and app integrations can add powerful automations and interactive features to a server. Some ideas for freeCodeCamp – a greeter bot that welcomes new members, a trivia bot for daily coding challenges, or an app that links to your freeCodeCamp progress.
🌳 Passionate open source community
Discord has an extremely active developer community of its own. Their API and SDKs support building all kinds of bots and integrations which are openly shared.
The officially endorsed community server for Discord API development, Discord.js, has over 100,000 members. There are also large third-party communities like Discord Bot List, a directory of 20,000+ Discord bots and apps.
Many open source projects like Docusaurus, Jupyter, V8 (the JavaScript engine for Chrome), and Visual Studio Code rely on their Discord communities for development discussions, user support, and collaboration.
The Power of Community for Learning and Motivation
Regarding the role of community in learning to code and staying motivated, there‘s a growing body of research showing just how impactful positive social connections and support can be.
freeCodeCamp survives thanks to the hundreds of thousands of people who make the community so supportive and giving. Here are three key psychological reasons why having a supportive community, especially an instant feedback one like our Discord chat room, is so important:
1. Sense of Belonging and Support
Learning a new skill like coding is hard. It‘s a long journey filled with complex concepts, bugs, and mental blocks. Imposter syndrome is real. Having a group of peers and mentors who understand your struggles, cheer you on, and relate to your experience can make all the difference for actually sticking with it.
We often hear from freeCodeCamp alumni that one of the most valuable takeaways from going through our curriculum was the friends and study buddies they made along the way through our forum, chat, and local study groups. These bonds last well beyond the challenges.
"I know I wouldn‘t be where I am today without the support of the freeCodeCamp community. Having people to turn to for guidance, feedback, and motivation at every step – from my first lines of code to my first developer job – has been absolutely essential. I‘m still in touch with many of my freeCodeCamp friends, and now I‘m trying my best to pay it forward and help support the next wave of campers." – Emily K., freeCodeCamp alum and software engineer
2. Collaborative Learning and Feedback
Research has found that collaborative learning – where learners work together to solve problems, discuss ideas, and give feedback – is extremely effective for engagement, comprehension, and building higher-level thinking skills.
Having a real-time environment for freeCodeCamp members to help each other work through our curriculum and projects can really accelerate and cement the learning. Some of the most inspiring moments are when someone shares a project demo and gets a flood of sincere kudos and constructive notes back from their fellow campers.
"I always felt ‘stuck‘ learning to code on my own. Everything finally clicked for me when I started collaborating and pair programming with other people working on the same freeCodeCamp projects. We‘d hop in a Discord voice channel to brainstorm solutions, review each other‘s PRs, and cheer each other over the finish line. I absorb and retain so much more working alongside others." – Jamal R., freeCodeCamp contributor
3. Accountability and Motivation
One of the hardest parts of self-directed learning is maintaining momentum and motivation. It‘s easy to fall off track or give up when you hit roadblocks and no one is holding you accountable.
Having a community of peers working towards the same goals can be a powerful source of positive peer pressure and accountability. We see freeCodeCamp study groups forming organically in our chats where members commit to regular check-ins and pair programming sessions. These accountability groups lead to significantly better completion rates.
"Joining a #100DaysOfCode accountability channel was a total game-changer for my coding habit. I went from working on freeCodeCamp sporadically whenever I had free time to coding for 2+ hours every single day, no excuses. My accountability buddies and I kept each other on track with a ton of emoji cheers, memes, and gentle nudges in the right direction." – Sasha M., freeCodeCamp community member
Mental Health and Developer Burnout
Beyond just learning to code, having a strong support network is crucial for maintaining mental health and managing the stress that‘s unfortunately so prevalent in the tech industry. A 2018 developer survey found that over 50% of developers have experienced a mental health concern and 30% have been formally diagnosed with a mental illness.
During the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, these issues have only been exacerbated. Many people are dealing with anxiety, loneliness, and depression on top of the existing stresses of work and learning. Having an uplifting community to turn to can make a meaningful difference.
We‘ve seen many freeCodeCamp members open up in our chats about their struggles and immediately receive an outpouring of encouragement, resources, and solidarity that helped them keep going. Sometimes that human connection is exactly what we all need.
"When I was going through severe burnout and anxiety last year, the freeCodeCamp community became one of my biggest lifelines. I could always count on the Discord to make me laugh, lift my spirits, and remind me that I wasn‘t alone in my struggles. We may be virtual but the love and support is 100% real." – Priya K., freeCodeCamp moderator
The Future of the freeCodeCamp Community on Discord
We‘re thrilled to officially launch this new Discord server as a home for the freeCodeCamp community, but this is just the beginning. We have big dreams for building out a uniquely freeCodeCamp experience full of fun and functionality.
Some initiatives on the horizon:
👨🏫 Study groups and office hours: We‘ll be spinning up dedicated Discord channels to match learners together based on what freeCodeCamp certifications and projects they‘re working on. Volunteer tutors will host regular office hours to answer questions and help troubleshoot.
🤝 Project and pair programming matchmaking: A big goal is to make it easy for members to find each other to collaborate on open source, participate in hackathons together, or even launch startups. We‘ll build opt-in directories and profile features to facilitate organic connections.
🏅 Recognition and rewards: We want to build a points/karma system and leaderboard to recognize and reward our community‘s top supporters, project builders, and helpful hands. Bonus custom flair and privileges will be unlocked as you contribute.
🤖 freeCodeCamp curriculum integrations: Longer-term, we‘d love to build deep integrations between the freeCodeCamp learning platform and the Discord. Imagine automatic Discord notifications and celebratory emojis when you complete a certification. Or an in-lesson chat box to ask for help without leaving the challenges.
We‘ll be continually gathering community feedback and ideas to steer our Discord plans and features. The goal is to create an unmatched space for connection and collaboration for the global freeCodeCamp community.
Join Us and Happy Coding!
We‘re so excited to welcome you all to the official freeCodeCamp Discord. Whether you‘re looking for help on your first lines of code or to collaborate on a complex full-stack project, there‘s a place for you here.
Join in the fun now at this link, check out the Community Hub for more info, and bring your friends! The more the merrier. Our Discord is completely free and open to coders of all levels around the world.
Let‘s keep each other company, accountable, and inspired on our coding journeys together. 💪
See you all on the server!