Discord is a free community communication software designed for communities where users can create or join servers based on their interests. One convenient feature for community managers is the “Roles” function, which allows them to manage members differently based on their attributes.
Overview of Roles Settings
The Roles settings have three major categories of options.
- Display Settings: affect the appearance of the roles in the Discord server.
- Permissions Settings: 41 different detailed settings across 7 categories.
- Links Settings: settings used when setting up “Linked Roles,” which can be found in the article “Link your third-party accounts using the Discord linked roles“.
Further Reading: How to create and manage Discord roles?
Roles settings
Display Settings
All options affecting the appearance of roles in the Discord server are gathered here.
Role Name
The name displayed for the role in the Discord server.
Role Color
The color displayed for the role in the Discord server, which also affects the color of the member’s ID who has the role.
Role Icon
A feature that can only be unlocked once the server has reached Level 2 Server Boost, which is a paid feature that allows the role to have its own exclusive icon.
Display Role Members Separately From Online Members
When this option is enabled, you can see members with this role on the right-hand member list. However, if a member has multiple roles with this option enabled, only the highest priority role will be displayed. If this option is disabled, you cannot directly see which members have this role in the right-hand member list of the server.
Display role members separately from online members
Allow Anyone to @mention This Role.
Enabling this option will allow anyone to mention this role members by using @(role name) in their messages. The mentioned members will see a red unread message notification count in the Discord server.
Mention role in the channel
Permission Settings
Discord has a wide range of permission settings, divided into 7 categories and 43 different detailed settings.
General Server Permissions.
This section has 8 different settings that are related to server management permissions.
View Channels
System description: Allows members to view channels by default (excluding private channels).
Explanation: Enabling this permission will allow members to see all public channels.
Manage Channels
System description: Allows members to create, edit, or delete channels.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, and is not generally enabled for regular members.
Manage Roles
System description: Allows members to create new roles and edit or delete roles lower than their highest role. Also allows members to change permissions of individual channels that they have access to.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, and is not generally enabled for regular members.
Manage Emojis and Stickers
System description: Allows members to add or remove custom emoji and stickers in this server
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, or is only enabled when other creators upload new emojis and stickers.
View Audit Log
System description: Allows members to view a record of who made which changes in this server.
Explanation: This permission is typically granted to server administrators, and is not enabled for regular members. The “Audit Log” can be found in the “Server Settings” options.
View audit log
View Server Insights
System description: Allows members to view Server Insights, which show data on community growth, engagement, and more.
Explanation: This permission is typically granted to server administrators, and is not enabled for regular members. “Server Insights” can be found in the “Server Settings”.
View server insights
Manage Webhooks
System description: Allows members to create, edit, or delete webhooks, which can post messages from other apps or sites into this server.
Explanation: This permission is typically granted to server administrators, and is not enabled for regular members. “Webhooks” can be configured in the “Integrations” of “Server Settings”.
Manage webhooks
Manage Server
System description: Allows members to change this server’s name, switch regions, view all invites, add bots to this server, and create and update AutoMod rules.
Explanation: This permission is typically granted to server administrators, and is not enabled for regular members.
Further Reading: How to invite Bots to join your Discord server?
Membership Permissions
There are 6 different settings in this section, which are related to membership permissions.
Create Invites
System description: Allows members to invite new people to this server.
Explanation: If this permission is enabled, any member in the server can send an invitation link to external users, who can join the server by clicking on the link.
Create invites
Change Nickname
System description: Allows members to change their nickname, a custom name for just this server.
Explanation: Each Discord account has two sets of personal nicknames that can be set, the “default nickname” and the “server nickname”. If the “server nickname” is not set, the default will be displayed. The setting of “server nickname” only applies within a single server.
Manage Nicknames
System description: Allows members to change the nicknames of other members.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, and general members do not have this permission. Members can actively modify the nickname of other members within the server.
Kick Members
System description: Allows members to remove other members from this server. Kicked members will be able to rejoin if they have another invite.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, and general members do not have this permission.
Ban Members
System description: Allows members to permanently ban other members from this server.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators, and general members do not have this permission. The banned member will not be able to rejoin the same Discord server again. The ban list can be viewed and adjusted in “Moderation” —> “Bans”.
Timeout Members
System description: When you put a user in timeout they will not be able to send messages in chat, reply within threads, react to messages, or speak in voice or stage channels.
Explanation: Timeout can be set for a specific duration, and the timeout member can be informed of the reason for their timeout.
Timeout members
Text Channel Permissions
There are 15 different settings related to text channels.
Send Messages and Create Posts
System description: Allows members to send messages in text channels and create posts in forum channels.
Explanation: Some channels may turn off this permission to keep the board clean or to announce important information, and only administrators can post important information, such as announcement channels.
Send Messages in Threads and Posts
System description: Allows members to send messages in threads and in posts on forum channels.
Explanation: The concept of threads is the concept of creating sub-channels in a single channel. This permission must be turned on in order to send messages in threads.
Threads
Create Public Threads
System description: Allows members to create threads that everyone in a channel can view.
Explanation: The concept of a thread is to create a sub-channel within a single channel. This permission is required to create a public thread.
Create Private Threads
System description: Allows members to create invite-only threads.
Explanation: The concept of a thread is to create a sub-channel within a single channel. This permission is required to create a private thread.
Embed Links
System description: Allows links that members share to show embedded content in text channels.
Explanation: If the membership of a Discord server is too complex, it is recommended to only allow advanced members to have the permission to share links. If anyone can share links, it could lead to an influx of malicious links.
Attach Files
System description: Allows members to upload files or media in text channels.
Explanation: The media mentioned in the system description includes various image and audio files. If the membership of a Discord server is too complex, it is recommended to only allow advanced members to have the permission to share attachments. If anyone can share attachments, it could lead to an influx of malicious files.
Add Reactions
System description: Allows members to add new emoji reactions to a message. If this permission is disabled, members can still react using any existing reactions on a message.
Explanation: This allows members to add various emojis as responses below messages. If this feature is disabled, new emojis cannot be added, but existing emojis can still be clicked below the message.
Add reaction
Using External Emoji
System description: Allows members to use emojis from other servers, if they are a Discord Nitro member.
Explanation: Each server can set up its own custom emojis, this feature allows members to use emojis from other servers, as long as they have a paid Discord Nitro membership.
Using External Stickers
System description: Allows members to use stickers from other servers, if they are a Discord Nitro member.
Explanation: Each server can set up its own custom stickers, this feature allows members to use stickers from other servers.
Mentioning @everyone, @here, and All Roles
System description: Allows members to use @everyone (everyone in the server) or @here (only online members in that channel). They can also @mention all roles, even if the role’s “Allow anyone to mention this role” permission is disabled.
Explanation: If a Discord server has complex member roles, it is recommended to only give this permission to advanced members to prevent members from being maliciously spammed.
Managing Messages
System description: Allows members to delete messages by other members or pin any message.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators and is not typically enabled for regular members.
Managing Threads and Posts
System description: Allows members to rename, delete, close, and turn on slow mode for threads and posts. They can also view private threads.
Explanation: This permission is usually given to server administrators and is not typically enabled for regular members.
Turn on slow mode
Read Message History
System description: Allows members to read previous messages sent in channels. If this permission is disabled, members only see messages sent when they are online and focused on that channel.
Explanation: This setting is typically enabled in regular channels to allow new members to read previous message history.
Send Text-to-Speech Messages
System description: Allows members to send text-to-speech messages by starting a message with /tts. These messages can be heard by anyone focused on the channel.
Explanation: Text-to-speech messages sent with /tts will be heard as a spoken version by everyone in the channel. This permission is usually reserved for advanced or management-level members.
Use Application Commands
System description: Allows members to use commands from applications, including slash commands and context menu commands.
Explanation: Application commands are usually only allowed in specific channels to keep the layout clean, and can be adjusted based on need.
Voice Channel Permissions
There are 11 different settings related to voice channels.
Connect
System description: Allows members to join voice channels and hear others.
Explanation: Determines whether this role can enter voice channels.
Speak
System description: Allows members to talk in voice channels. If this permission is disabled, members are default muted until somebody with the “Mute Members” permission un-mutes them.
Explanation: Determines whether this role can speak in voice channels.
Video
System description: Allows members to share their video, screen share, or stream a game in this server.
Explanation: Determines whether this role can share screens in voice channels.
Use Activities
System description: Allows members to use activities in this server.
Explanation: With this permission enabled, members can create game activities in the voice channel with others.
Use Soundboard
System description: Allows members to send sounds from server soundboard.
Explanation: This allows members to send sounds in the server.
Use External Sounds
System description: Allows members to use sounds from other servers, if they’re a Discord Nitro member.
Explanation: Each server can set up its own custom sounds, this feature allows members to use sounds from other servers, as long as they have a paid Discord Nitro membership.
Use Voice Activity
System description: Allows members to speak in voice channels by simply talking. If this permission is disabled, members are required to use Push-to-talk. Good for controlling background noise or noisy members.
Explanation: This permission can be turned off when holding voice events in voice channels, requiring participants to use a Push-to-talk keybind to speak. The Push-to-talk keybind can be set in “App Settings” –> “Voice & Video” settings.
Push-to-talk keybind setting
Priority Speaker
System description: Allows members to be more easily heard in voice channels. When activated, the volume of others without this permission will be automatically lowered. Priority Speaker is activated by using the push to talk (Priority) keybind.
Explanation: Push-to-talk (Priority) can be set in “App Settings” –> “Keybind”.
Priority speaker keybind setting
Mute Members
System description: Allows members to mute other members in voice channels for everyone.
Explanation: This permission is usually granted to server administrators and not to regular members.
Deafen Members
System description: Allows members to deafen other members in voice channels. which means they won’t be able to speak or hear others.
Explanation: This permission is usually granted to server administrators and not to regular members.
Move Members
System description: Allows members to move other members between voice channels that the member with this permission has access to.
Explanation: This permission is usually granted to server administrators and not to regular members.
Stage Channel Permission
Request to Speak
System description: Allow requests to speak in Stage channels. Stage moderators manually approve or deny each request.
Explanation: Request to speak is the “raise hand” feature, and clicking the button will show a raised hand icon next to the user’s avatar.
Event Permission
Manage Events
System description: Allows members to edit and cancel events.
Explanation: This permission is usually granted to server administrators and not to regular members, and can be used to create, edit, and cancel event information in the server.
Create event
Advanced Permissions
Administrator
System description: Members with this permission will have every permission and will also bypass all channel-specific permissions or restrictions (for example, these members would get access to all private channels). This is a dangerous permission to grant.
Explanation: Do not give it to anyone unless it is absolutely necessary.
