There's a new community channel available on the Magenta Media Discord. It's called #dressxme and by using the command line /dressxme in the text box of that channel, you'll be presented with options to change the clothes you're wearing in (almost)any photo with AI, thanks to the team at DRESSX.

While I openly advocate and primarily create onchain and publish with onchain media platforms, I wouldn't turn my nose up at any technology with sophisticated or interesting use just because it's not onchain. Every online activity isn't elevated by being onchain.

Discord, despite being what I call the underbelly of the cozy web is still a place where—especially if you create your own private Discord—you may harvest yet a lot of creative value, but with its popularity comes an increase in scams and security threats. This post will highlight the settings and habits to be safer on Discord, drawing from past incidents and offering practical advice to provide a few grail precautions for you to take that will ensure you have a productive, comfortable and safe experience there.

AI fashion bots, and other useful AI creative tools are free to use in Discord

In addition to the now world famous Midjourney, there are other valuable bots that only operate inside Discord that are available to help you create, connect, and entertain you—and for free, like this amazing #dressxme bot by the most well-known digital fashion platform DRESSX.

That said...

Staying safe on Discord requires vigilance and the implementation of advanced security practices. By utilizing invisible mode, carefully selecting friends, and with a few other habits, like using a public wallet for secure logins, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling victim to scams.

One prevalent scam involved fake support accounts tricking users into divulging personal information. Another involved a bot popping up at a time when a user expected to see a bot—just not the one that popped up, tricking the user into clicking into something that drained their assets (a "wallet-drainer").

Despite Discord's efforts to mark real support accounts clearly, users still fall victim to these sophisticated schemes, highlighting a crucial need for advanced safety practices.

Make Use of Invisible Mode

Invisible mode is a powerful tool in your safety arsenal. By appearing offline, you reduce the chances of unsolicited contact from scammers. In 2023, numerous reports emerged of users receiving unsolicited messages from accounts posing as friends or official entities. These messages often contained malicious links or requests for sensitive information.

How to Activate Invisible Mode:

1. Click on your profile picture at the bottom left corner.

2. Select "Invisible" from the status options.

Using invisible mode can make it harder for scammers to target you, as they often prey on active users.

The Importance of Adding Your Discord Friends Only When Essential

One of the most effective ways to stay safe on Discord is by being selective about who you add as friends. On Discord, out of sight is literally out of mind. If you can't be seen or can't be messaged, you've already cut out a lot of potential reachouts from shady bad actors (I hate to bring up negative shit, but it's better to be aware; people try to scam you on Discord just like they do on emails and with phishing text messages. Forewarned and forearmed is the best policy. These tools that we can install inside Discord are useful, can add a lot to life and are worth exploring if you have your settings right.)

In 2023, many scams started with friend requests from accounts with no mutual friends or shared servers. These accounts would often send convincing messages, leading users to phishing sites or malware downloads.

Guidelines for Adding Friends on Discord:

• Only accept requests from people you know that you absolutely need to add as friends because it benefits you personally. For example, when I join hackathons, we often form a discord for the project. That's a clear situation for a green light. But a request for just casual chats? Just to keep in touch? Nope. (Telegram is a friendlier and more of the moment app for keeping in touch; it's far more fun and way more user friendly with as many easy to use features.)

• The other Discord Friends I approve are people I have met on video calls or offline who I am working with on-going projects or developers whom I've previously met on a video call where the Discord Friend Request is a result of a previous phone conversation where we agreed to move the conversation to Discord—usually to open a Support Ticket.

• Discord ain't called FriendCord, so it's not a place to make friends. It's a place to discuss. That's the tea.

• If it's not absolutely essential to communicate via Discord Direct Message, don't accept any friend requests with just any Discord user and don't request to make friends with anyone you don't really know.

• Even though there are a few you can install, choose another platform on which to play games—especially games that require you to make yourself visible. There are other better, safer places to play better games. Remember: Visibility makes you a target for social engineering among other phuckery.

• Utility bots like the DRESSX AI fashion bot and Midjourney don't require you to make yourself visible to install and use their bots.

Staying safe on Discord requires vigilance and the implementation of advanced security practices. By utilizing invisible mode, limiting who can message you, and knowing who is behind the profile of any account plus having a good reason to add them before you approve or click Add As A Friend, you will have a smoother more productive Discord experience when you use the AI fashion bots, and other AI creative tools that are useful and free to use in Discord.

Stay informed, and prioritize your security to enjoy a safer Discord experience.

The cozy web, where apps like Discord reside, is especially attractive for its ease of use and community feel. However, it's important to remember that these platforms are also frequented by cybercriminals who exploit their public nature to conduct scams or phishing attacks. Therefore, while engaging with these platforms, always prioritize security by employing practices such as using invisible mode, being selective about friend requests, and thoroughly vetting any bots before you interact with them. Remember, the key to a safer cozy web experience lies in balancing engagement with vigilance.

1. Surface Web: Represented by the surface of the Earth, symbolizing easily accessible and indexed websites. Commercial websites like amazon and entertainment sites like YouTube, and my online shop are in this realm here.

2. Cozy Web: Visualized as a small, warm, inviting space, perhaps an subterranean sanctuary, representing small, personal websites built by individuals for non-commercial purposes. This realm is where Discord, and Telegram and metaverse communities open to the public reside.

3. Deep Web: Illustrated as a labyrinthine sub subterranean library, representing data not indexed by search engines but accessible with proper credentials.

4. Dark Web: Depicted as the lower circles, a dark and shadowy factory town, symbolizing areas only accessible via special software like Tor, associated not wrongly with anonymity, piracy, and privacy but not solely used for immoral activities.

5. Third Web: Depicted as the area still under development but where there's headway been made and clear signs of life. It looks clean and functional but it's nowhere near 'completion'. This is the realm of blockchain technology. An example of this would be our creator-owned data visible to the public on an immutable decentralized ledger—any and all blockchain networks like Base, Ethereum, Solana, Lightning and others.