CAM Events via Discord

No. Simply open Discord and along the leftmost edge, click on our CAM icon. If you don't see the icon, you will need to use an Invitation Link. You may have inadvertently clicked on "Leave Server" (see below).

First we recommend you get the Discord app. Then you need to register. Make up a Discord user name, which can be obscure if you wish, enter some birth date which needn't be real but which should be more than 13 years in the past, preferably much more, and pick a password.

You only need the Invitation Link to join initially. After tapping/clicking on it, you will be taken to our orientation text channel in which the Code of Conduct is displayed. To access all the channels, you must agree to it by tapping/clicking on the emoji symbol at the end that corresponds to Your membership category: 🏙 CAM, ✈ American Mensa Local Group (not CAM), 🛂 Mensa member outside of US, or 🤝 non-Mensan. You’ll only need to do this setup once. Subsequently, just fire up the Discord app, or go to the Discord website, and the CAM server will be shown in the leftmost column. If there isn't a long white/black line to the left of the icon (dark/light mode), just click on the CAM icon to join again.

The Invitation Link, for anyone who hasn’t joined our customized CAM Discord server already, will be provided prior to any CAM event which takes place on Discord. You can also find it on our Contacts Info webpage as part of the Discord Team Leader’s info. Newbies will be given a chance to familiarize themselves with the set up and to mingle and are welcome to ask questions.

We recommend you use the app. You can use the browser version of Discord but it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles the app does. People using the Firefox or Edge browser have had lots of difficulties so if you're going to use a browser, we recommend Chrome. You need to register so make up a Discord user name, which can be obscure if you wish, enter some birth date which needn't be real but which should be more than 13 years in the past, preferably much more, and pick a password. Sign into the Discord app or browser version of Discord.

If you have the app and have never joined our CAM server for an MG, for HalloweeM, or for events like G&C or CAMBeer, to join simply tap/click on the Invitation Link and Discord will handle redirecting you to the app similar to Zoom. Otherwise open Discord, look for our CAM server on the very left, and tap/click on it to join. You will be taken to our orientation text channel in which the Code of Conduct is displayed. To access all the channels, you must agree to it by tapping/clicking on the emoji symbol at the end that corresponds to Your membership category: 🏙 CAM, ✈ American Mensa Local Group (not CAM), 🛂 Mensa member outside of US, or 🤝 non-Mensan. For more details about the initial joining process, see below.

Click on the Invitation Link and it will open Discord in your browser. If you’ve downloaded the app, Discord will complete the process via the app similar to Zoom.

The "Welcome" screen will appear. Click on the blue "Join CAM" button.

Next the "Welcome to CAM" screen (right) will appear. You are now in the orientation text channel in the the CAM Discord server (you’ll see icon in the leftmost column). To access the rest of the CAM channels, you must first accept the Code of Conduct. If you agree, tap/click on the emoji symbol at the end that best describes Your membership category: 🏙 CAM, ✈ American Mensa Local Group (not CAM), 🛂 Mensa member outside of US, or 🤝 non-Mensan.

After you click an emoji symbol, you’ll see a message encouraging you to visit the welcome text channel. It will give a quick overview about the setup. It also provides a link to roleypoly bot which is where you can indicate your interests and more; it opens in a browser page where you will need to register.

You only need the Invitation Link to join initially. Subsequently, just fire up the Discord app, or go to the Discord website, and the CAM server will be shown in the leftmost column. If there isn't a long white/black line to the left of the icon (dark/light mode), just click on the CAM icon to rejoin.

Layout When in a Text Channel

At the very bottom of the channels, tap/click your User Settings and then tap/click on the red “Log Out” option at the bottom.

If you just want to take a break or need some privacy to talk to someone in your physical environment, simply move yourself to the Dozing on Couches channel which is the very last channel.

If you just want to disconnect from the voice channel while continuing to use the text channels, simply click/tap on the voice disconnect icon ( with a + next to it as shown in the snapshot on the left) also near the bottom of the channel list to the right of the "Voice Connected" message.

Unless you plan to never use this server again, NEVER click/tap on the red "Leave Server" option that appears two places: 1.) When you right-click a server icon along the left edge; and 2.) when you expand the server dropdown menu at the very top of the channel column. All your settings, like Roles or nickname, in this server will be lost. "Leave Server" is actually a way to remove yourself permanently from a server and once you do, you will not see our CAM server along the left edge. The only way you will be able to rejoin is with an Invitation Link.

To the right, you’ll see the list of members. Right click on on the person you wish to send a message to and click on "Message". You may do the same if you see the member listed on the left under a channel. These are Direct Messages (DM) that are private and not viewable by anyone other than you and that particular member.

Along the left edge, if you click on the first icon at the top, you can see all text messages people have sent directly to you. You’ll see your list of friends and a list of people who have sent you direct messages (DM), which are private. There will be a number next to the icon if you have unread messages. If you click on the inbox on the upper right, you can also see all the text channels where someone @mentioned you; these are not private. It also includes notifications for any text channel for which you enabled notifications (right-click on channel name for setting notifications).

When a text channel is highlighted, it means there are new messages in that channel you haven't read.

On your left, at very bottom of the channel column, you’ll see the User Settings cog , which you would click. The "My Account" menu item should open by default. Click the blue "Edit" button.

Note: On a tablet or smart phone , tap on your avatar on the bottom left. Then tap the "My Account" menu item on the left.

At the top right edge of your current avatar, you’ll see an image icon with a + in its upper right hand corner. Click on that icon, and you’ll be able to specify the folder and filename of the image you wish to use. Click the green "Save" button to save any changes you make.

Note: On a tablet , tap on the Discord icon to get back.

Look for your username on the right or on the left. Right-click it and select "Nickname". You can override your username on the CAM Discord server without affecting how your username is displayed on other Discord servers. To avoid endless questions about who you are, we ask everyone to use their real names, or whatever name you are widely known by at RGs and AGs. Some members also specify their Board Game Arena name as well.

On a tablet or phone, scroll all the way to the right and tap on your username. You’ll see Manage User and if you tap on that, the window that pops out will allow you to change your Nickname. Otherwise, to the left, above all the channels you’ll see Chicago Area Mensa, and if you tap that, you also see "Change Nickname" which you can tap and then enter your Nickname.

Right click on the channel name and one of the options is "Hide Names". When you check the box, the usernames will appear as icons.

To @mention someone specifically or a group of people with a particular role, you can simply type an @ followed by their username or role. After you’ve typed a few letters, a list of matching names and roles will pop up and you can click on the one you want, or you can type the entire name or role, and press "return" to turn it into a blue @username or @role. You may do this multiple times to @mention more than one individual. This works very much like or Facebook.
If you type the complete @username or @role yourself without hitting return afterwards, it will not turn blue and will just be treated as part of the text ‐ the person will not be notified that s/he or they were mentioned.

Scroll down the list of channels until you see Events. Find the MG Speaker channel which is where the speaker is expected to be. If the speaker is streaming a video or offering any visual aides, you will see next to their name. Click on to view their presentation. If you don’t see the button, double-click on voice channel name to see an array of everyone in the channel. Look for a screen that looks like someone is sharing their screen and tap/click on it to make it the largest screen shown. If you hover near the bottom right, you’ll see icons that allow you to view the screen as a "pop-out" or in full screen mode.

We ask everyone to disable Video to enable more than 25 people to enter the voice channel. When in this channel, you’ll be in push-to-talk mode which means your microphone is off to avoid feedback as well as eliminate any background noise at your location. To talk you must hold down the appropriate key to enable your microphone.

If your screen is large enough to view more than one window or you have multiple monitors, there is a "pop-out" icon that appears on the lower right when you hover on the stream. Click it and the presentation will appear in a new window that you can then drag to position it on your screen so you can see it and the Discord app. You may then simultaneously listen and watch while also viewing any activity in a text channel.

At the bottom of the list of channels until you see the User Settings icon. Click/tap on the icon.

Tap/click on "Voice & Video" on the left menu. Under "Input Mode" you’ll see "Voice Activity" checked. Tap/click to select "Push to Talk". If you have a key defined, you will see it under Shortcut. If the Shortcut field is blank or if you wish to change it, tap/click the icon (when you hover over it, it changes to Start Recording if Shortcut blank or "Edit Keybind" if defined). It will change to Stop Recording. Enter the key(s) you wish to designate, like the space bar; if entering a key combination, you must hold them all down simultaneously. Then tap/click on Stop Recording.

If you wish to remain in the "Push to Talk" mode, exit the "User Settings" by tapping/clicking on the icon at the top right or use your esc(ape) key. Otherwise select "Voice Activity" before you exit.

Unless you’re in a speaker voice channel, you can easily toggle into or out of "Push to Talk" mode with a right-click of your microphone icon and changing it in the pop-up menu.

Layout When in the find-a-game Text Channel

Scroll down the list of channels until you see Games. Check out the game-night!! (announcement) text channel to see if there’s anything of interest; you may want enable notifications for this channel. Click/tap on the find-a-game text channel. You’ll see valuable, helpful information about how to participate in the various gaming possibilitites members can take advantage of. It specifies which online games require advanced registration and the links to register (as shown above); all these online games and apps are free.

Check out and use the Find Game Partners channel to find people interested in playing the same game you’re interested in and then agree on an empty voice channel to join to converse while playing. You may want to right-click on the game-announcements or game-night!! (announcement) text channels and update your "Notification Settings" to learn of any game people are organizing to start at a specific time in a specific channel. Or organize your own and post to that channel. The other game channels provide information about the game named as part of the title and if you’re interested in any of those, you may wish to update your "Notification Settings" for that channel.

The two games you can play without using an app are Trivia, by clicking/tapping on the trivia text channel, and Cards Against Humanity by clicking/tapping on the cards-against-humanity text channel.

Several games are played in a browser: jigsaw-puzzle, Euchre, and Double-Deck Cancellation Hearts (DDCH). You can solve a jigsaw puzzle by clicking/tapping on the jigsaw-puzzles channel where you see a link, which you then click/tap to solve the puzzle in your browser. Double-Deck Cancellation Hearts (DDCH) for 8 people also has a link to initiate/join the game in a browser as well as its own ddch-how-to text channel listing the instructions. In most cases there is a corresponding voice channel you may wish to join so you can talk to the people who are also solving the puzzle or playing DDCH.

Register in advance for Board Game Arena to play games like 6 nimmt!, 7 Wonders, Can’t Stop, Lost Cities, Carcassonne, Kingdomino, Hanabi, Stone Age, Saboteur, Spyrium, Sushi Go!, Takenoko, Dice Forge, Seasons, and Love Letter.

Register in advance to play Codenames.

Register in advance to play Dixit.

Register in advance to play Dominion.

Register in advance to play Secret Dictator.

Register in advance to play many different games on Yucata.

Scroll down the list of channels until you see Games and click on the jigsaw-puzzles channel. Type %jigsaws and you’ll see all the puzzles in progress and chose one. Clicking on the link will open the jigsaw puzzle in a browser. "Preview" at the top will show you an image of the completed puzzle; download the image if you would like to avoid having to open it a lot especially since it obscures the puzzle. Talk to others who are also working on the puzzle by joining the Jigsaw Puzzle channel. If you leave the puzzle for a while, you’ll get a Lost connection pop-up, but it’s purely informatory — simply click on "Reconnect" when you’re ready to continue.

If you’ve finished a puzzle, enter %jigsaws finished followed by the url of the finished puzzle.

If you’re competitive, you may wish to register. It will keep track of the number of pieces you placed. Otherwise, it may reset to zero should there be an issue or you close the puzzle browser tab.

Voice Channels: If you right-click on your username, either on the right, or under the channel you are currently in, the menu includes "Move to". If you select that option, all the voice channels are listed alphabetically and if you click on one, you’ll be moved there.

On a tablet or smart phone , tap on the search icon shown under the channel column, and the "Where would you like to go?" search option appears, in which you can enter a enter the username or text channel name.

The Search field above the list of members will enable you to search both direct messages and @mentions involving a specific username. Clicking on the field will show you a list of filters you may apply to your search.

On a tablet or smart phone , if you tap the search icon shown above the member list on the far right or above the center panel, you see the "Search in CAM" option, and you’ll also see some tips to filter your search.

We have four bots on duty to help your CAM experience: roleypoly, CAMbot, TriviaBot, and ServerStats.

• You’ll encounter roleypoly during orientation. It will pop up a web browser page where you can add roles and interests to your name badge. You can revisit that page at any time via the link in the welcome channel.
• CAMbot facilitates some other functions here, one of which is described below in Hugs.
• TriviaBot can run a trivia contest for people in the bot-does-trivia channel under Games.
• The ServerStats may be of interest to anyone wishing to know the number of visitors we’ve had as well as other info.

Visit the welcome text channel. Tap/Click the link to invoke the roleypoly bot.

We suggest you set your hug dot red, yellow or green with roleypoly. You may give or offer someone a hug by typing "%hug @username" in a text channel. As you type @username, a list of possible usernames or roles appears that contain your letters and you can then choose one and the @username will turn blue. Once you send your hug, the result will depend on that person's hug dot, or lack of one.
If you type the complete @username yourself without hitting return afterwards, it will not turn into a blue @mention and just be treated as part of the text.

If you are offered a hug when your hug dot is yellow or absent, the CAMbot will mention you and the other person in a message and you may click the thumb-up or thumb-down emoji as you choose. Either way, that message will disappear so you won't leave the person hanging!

Here’s a list of commands you may use:

• %hug @username or role
  sends a hug to @…
  where as you type @ followed by a few letters, a pop-up list of usernames & roles will appear containing the letters and you can click on one or type it yourself, but if type it yourself, be sure to hit return afterwards to turn it into a blue @mention — otherwise it will just be treated as text.
• %catfact
• %dogfact
• %8ball your question
• %roll dice
  shows you the sum as well as the number for each die
  where if dice = 2d6, you’ll roll 2 dice that are 6-sided.
• %remindme timer text
  where the format of timer is hour(s)+h+minutes+m (e.g. %remindme 16h50m Join tournament = remind me in 16 hours & 50 minutes to "Join tournament" or %remindme 10m Go to Birch = remind me in 10 minutes to …)
• %reminders
  to list your reminders and show you how to delete or remove any reminder(s) you created.
• %wyr
  poses a Would you rather question.
• %advice
  gives you advice.
• %topic
  asks an open-ended question.
• %xkcd
  shows you a comic strip — just try it!
• %throw @username or role
  throws random objects @…
  where as you type @ followed by a few letters, a pop-up list of usernames & roles will appear containing your letters and you can click on one or type it yourself, but if type it yourself, be sure to hit return afterwards to turn it into a blue @mention — otherwise it will just be treated as text.

When you first join, you must agree to the posted Code of Conduct to be able to view all of the channels, interact with online members, etc. The Code of Conduct will be permanently posted in the orientation text channel.

If you encounter violations, you may report them to the @WhiteHats via a mention or you can privately message anyone listed under the WHITEHAT role (under the list of usernamers on the right) by right-clicking/long tapping on their username. Someone will get back to you.

Locate the name of the person whose voice seems to be loud or soft in your current voice channel and right click on their name. You’ll see a user volume slider. Adjust as needed. You can even mute them if you don’t wish to hear what they have to say, but, like blocking someone on Facebook, the conversation may then sound weird as other people continue to interact with that person and you have no idea about the context.

After 15 minutes to an hour (when watching speakers) of inactivity, you will be sent there to free up space for others in the voice channel in which you were in. In this channel, your microphone and speakers will be automatically muted and of course your video feed, if enabled, will be disabled. You may also end up there if someone moved you there because the background noise in your physical environment was disruptive and you weren’t responding to requests to mute yourself.

You should also go there of your own accord if you’re planning to take a break or you can tap/click on the voice disconnect icon ( with a + next to it) near the bottom of the channel list to the right of the "Voice Connected" message.

Yes. In a text channel, mention @WhiteHats. Everyone with a @WhiteHats role will be alerted. Or you can privately message members listed appearing lighter than others (under the list of member on the right) by right-clicking/long tapping on their username — you may want to verify their Roles to make sure they are a WhiteHat. You can expect someone to get back to you. Steps will be taken based upon the severity and frequency of the infraction(s).
If you type the complete @WhiteHats yourself without hitting return afterwards, it will not turn into a blue @mention and just be treated as part of the text.