35 minutes ago, andyjohnston.net said:

...there's no way this is anywhere near official.

Is THAT official though?

1 hour ago, andyjohnston.net said:

Look at the resources available to/through Microsoft.  They aren't about to go through some external source, there's no way this is anywhere near official.

Exactly.  That is why it is called “semi-official.”  A number of moderators on the official MSFS forums were given permission by MS to start a “semi-official” Discord server.  Even, the MSFS consumer engagement lead is a mod on the Discord server.  Not official by any means, but another outlet for discussion.

24 minutes ago, ual763 said:

Even, the MSFS consumer engagement lead is a mod on the Discord server.  Not official by any means, but another outlet for discussion.

Anyone on the internet can claim to be some "official spokesperson" for an organization, but is there any means to test such a claim?

Color me extremely skeptical...

Well you need to prove you're an alpha tester to get access to the Alpha discussion channel. Only way for someone to know you're telling the truth, is to have access to the testing data.

Edited February 19, 20206 yr by Tuskin38

51 minutes ago, n4gix said:

Anyone on the internet can claim to be some "official spokesperson" for an organization, but is there any means to test such a claim?

Color me extremely skeptical...

Well, he’s one of only 4 accounts followed by the official MSFS twitter account, and his bio says he is the consumer engagement lead.  So, I’d say he’s real... Any insiders can also logon to the forums and view the members themselves to see that the mods/admins on the Discord page are the same as on the forums.  

46 minutes ago, ual763 said:

Well, he’s one of only 4 accounts followed by the official MSFS twitter account, and his bio says he is the consumer engagement lead.  So, I’d say he’s real... Any insiders can also logon to the forums and view the members themselves to see that the mods/admins on the Discord page are the same as on the forums.  

Okay, that sound legitimate then. However when I click on the link in the first post, all I see is this:

@n4gix yeah discord can be weird at times and crash. Also, if you use the Desktop Discord APP you need to have it running when clicking on an Invite for the Join Server to work correctly, usually!

This is from the FAQ's area on the discord channel! And as mentioned they couldn't approve Alpha testers if they didn't know who they were, which I am not one! In the end it's up to the user to decide if they want to join 🙂 Plus they have so many people joining they are having trouble keeping up with the Alpha testers access request 🙂 I am surprised they added the Release Date info. Although it is just a guess, and Semi-Official 🙂 Wonder if Lionel and the rest of the team are on there?

Edited February 19, 20206 yr by in2tech

1 hour ago, ual763 said:

Well, he’s one of only 4 accounts followed by the official MSFS twitter account, and his bio says he is the consumer engagement lead.  So, I’d say he’s real... Any insiders can also logon to the forums and view the members themselves to see that the mods/admins on the Discord page are the same as on the forums.  

You mean any Insiders with aloha access can view the forums. Otherwise it’s still ‘coming soon’.

58 minutes ago, n4gix said:

Okay, that sound legitimate then. However when I click on the link in the first post, all I see is this:

Sorry, that is because the links expire after a day. 
 

Here is a current link:

https://discord.gg/7hm5AK

Now, I must warn you, the General area is currently comprised of a bunch of people whining in self-pity about not getting access to the Alpha.  However, this is unavoidable on here, Reddit,Discord, or anywhere really.  The mods have already stated they will add various sub forums in the future to help dispel those conversations.

Cheers!

Edited February 19, 20206 yr by ual763

20 minutes ago, Doug47 said:

You mean any Insiders with aloha access can view the forums. Otherwise it’s still ‘coming soon’.

No, anyone can create an account.  I have created an account and I do not have alpha access.  However, you have to get in by typing/or googling the forum link.  If you try to gain access via homepage, you get the coming soon message.  I cannot view most topics, but can search the membership and update my profile.

They can set them to Never Expire, guess they are trying to keep up. But why post a different Invite every day, seems like a lot of extra work. But hey they are running it not me 🙂 

12 minutes ago, ual763 said:

Now, I must warn you, the General area is currently comprised of a bunch of people whining in self-pity about not getting access to the Alpha.

That was the first thing I thought when I heard about that forum. 😄

5 minutes ago, tweekz said:

That was the first thing I thought when I heard about that forum. 😄

Can’t escape it no matter where you go though.  On update days, the discussion will be about the update.  On last days of alpha invites, discussion will be self-pity.  

44 minutes ago, Doug47 said:

You mean any Insiders with aloha access can view the forums. Otherwise it’s still ‘coming soon’.

Aloha access?  Is this a new, special level of access I can buy?  How much will it cost?  Is there a subscription?  Do I need to use Gamepass?  Can it fry an egg?

Why is the sky blue?

Edited February 19, 20206 yr by TechguyMaxC

30 minutes ago, ual763 said:

No, anyone can create an account.  I have created an account and I do not have alpha access.  However, you have to get in by typing/or googling the forum link.  If you try to gain access via homepage, you get the coming soon message.  I cannot view most topics, but can search the membership and update my profile.

I’ve got an account,  and typing the address makes no difference because you need to log in via the homepage. Der. 
i can see the memberships and same with profile, but theere ain’t any messages or posts available to view for non alpha (or aloha :p) members. 
 

And seriously, discord, what a joke of a program anyway. Talk about what’s the point with that one. 

Edited February 19, 20206 yr by Doug47