Let’s Play Hide & Seek!
With the news of recent and upcoming changes to Discord, One Free Community members are executing our plan for leaving the platform without sacrificing our connectivity.
Platform Hide & Seek is our opportunity to preserve and nurture community while practicing how to organize in a decentralized fashion. We will be sharing steps on how to protect yourself and our communities by playing this game. We encourage everyone to prepare immediately because platform changes are likely to escalate in March. We are in a rare position to refuse to participate in a system that aims to harm us and the environment.
If you found OFC after we have closed the server, you can still join events and get news via our newsletter. More below.
WHAT IS PLATFORM HIDE & SEEK?
PLATFORM HIDE & SEEK is a community-wide game of dispersal and regrouping. We want to demonstrate the ability of a centralized network space to quickly disperse itself into smaller nodes (in response to, hypothetically, a platform that has become hostile) and reconnect at some time in the future. Maybe we’ll reconvene in the same space, maybe not, but this will be a fun and valuable practice in the era of enshittification!
HOW TO PLAY
- HIDE: It starts out just like traditional HIDE & SEEK: Someone (usually an established platform) is designated “it”, meaning they get to chase all the other players and try to tag them “out”. The best way to avoid getting “out” is to find a place to hide until the game is over and avoid “it”.
As of late February, 2026, Discord has volunteered to be “it” with its recent announcements about forthcoming facial/ID scans, ongoing AI surveillance of our messages, and an IPO soon. Thanks, Discord, for stepping up!
We are not encouraging people to delete their accounts at this time, only to log out and delete the app from devices. Oh! And definitely cancel NITRO or any other paid services if possible.
- SEEK: Since it can be hard to replace one popular platform all at once, players should create temporary homebases (or “NODES” — more on them below) that fulfill specific needs across many platforms. Start one with folks you know and trust and join several others. Stay connected there while the previous platform goes dormant.
Players do not need to wait for the game to begin before developing NODES. You are encouraged to create, find, and visit as many homebases as you can maintain before and after the game begins. (You may even find similar spaces hiding from a different “it”!)
- HOMEBASE: Maintain networks across Nodes. Confirm new information with trusted contacts and sources. While you’re at your homebase(s), keep the spirit of your network alive: keep organizing, keep protesting, and keep communicating with other homebases/nodes so your network stays in tact.
- HOMESAFE: Invite each other to Nodes and explore their functionality (this may take some time). Once a suitable platform emerges, a new location can be declared and reconnection can begin with notifications via direct networks, website, and newsletter.
IS THE GAME OVER FOR ME IF I GET TAGGED?
This is one of the other ways online HIDE & SEEK is different: “out” is both permanent and cumulative.
Getting tagged “out” (such as by being required to submit a face or ID scan or accepting reduced access) means you have become susceptible to higher levels of surveillance, locked out of certain spaces or services, or that other players may choose to avoid you to protect themselves. Getting tagged zero times is ideal for you and for all the other players, but getting tagged once is still better than getting tagged ten times.
If you are unable to leave Discord for business or personal reasons but still want to play, you can leave vulnerable servers — just make sure you connect with a NODE or two on your way out, so your network can find you if/when the game ends.
It is only fair to tell other players if you get tagged “out” because there is no clear way to protect you, your homebases, or anyone else from further surveillance and data scraping. Ideally, notify others on a different platform. In extreme cases, you may just have to create a new account, accept reduced access, or abandon the platform to protect others.
Being “out” doesn’t mean the game is over, but it’s a lot harder to win. Not getting tagged at all is the most winning strategy.
HOW TO WIN
If you successfully reject the surveillance state while sustaining connections that nourish your sense of community, we all win! If you do so long enough to find a replacement platform, even better!
WHERE TO HIDE: MORE ABOUT HOMEBASES (NODES)
- In simplest terms, a HOMEBASE is a NODE: a virtual space where existing values and connections are maintained by members of your network away from the original platform. They should aspire to be safer from surveillance and exploitation than the platform you’re leaving behind.
- The ultimate goal of NODES is to eventually find (or build) a new virtual space where existing values and connections can re-gather and again thrive, but in order to do that players must explore other possibilities and adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape. If and when the game ends, we fully expect the game to have changed us. The new playground will have a distinct name, recognizing that it’ll never be the same but still adheres to the values we know.
- Until you can identify a long-term space that balances your privacy and accessibility needs, you must depend on each other to help each NODE become its own vibrant, playful space for organizing. It’s even okay if some new NODES evolve in new directions rather than just being a continuation — everyone deserves virtual spaces where we feel supported and affirmed!
- NODES will necessarily start out smaller than your existing server, so we encourage folks to participate in two or more across multiple platforms. This will help NODES pass updates quickly while reducing your exposure to tagging by surveillance, AI profiling, and other nonconsensual exploitation.
HOW TO CREATE A NODE
Any space where three or more members are engaging topics of disability justice is welcome to call itself a node, but users must use your own discretion. Focus on sustaining something small and active for weeks, maybe months, at a time and let it develop organically from there. We strongly recommend joining at least two nodes with distinct membership and different “owners”. Beware any node that elevates White Supremacy Culture (WSC) values, such as hierarchy, strict time expectations, or rigid ideology without community input. Make sure to follow news and get event registrations. Share them in your group to attend events.
- Connect with people you know and create a group NODE in the app of your choice. Choose a secure platform to host the group chat and start inviting people.
- Types of topics or gatherings include Affinity (example: Parents), Topic (example: Covid), Regional (example: PNW) or any other form.
- Take the culture of your server with you by documenting history, values, and practices and keeping them active in NODES!
SAFETY IN FINDING AND BUILDING YOUR NODE(S)
- Players should beware: “It” might be a sneaky platform who doesn’t count fairly or whispers “Ready or not, here I come!”; you may not know the game has started until people are already getting tagged out. Players seem to have a few days/weeks/months to plan ahead, so you can start building homebases now, but be prepared to move quickly as soon as you get word the game has started!
- Not only is it possible to tag someone else without intending to do so, but “it” probably cannot tell between players and spectators, so if you’re on the “it” platform at all you could get tagged whether you’re playing or not.
- The more public a NODE is, the harder it will be to protect, but this is not a new challenge.
- Players must rely on their own discretion in selecting NODES. Those who have been most active cannot be in every NODE all the time and must depend on other users to be the best to yourselves and each other. Beware any node that elevates colonizer values, such as hierarchy, strict time expectations, secrecy, respectability politics, rigid ideology without community input, or other toxic practices in your network’s name.
- The “buddy system” is your friend! A NODE can start with as few as three participants who share a focus and access, so you can start by maintaining connections you’ve already built.
- Don’t let anyone compel you to participate in anything that hurts you or others, that prioritizes profit or status over accessibility, or that tells you there is only one path forward. Use your networks to warn others if you encounters such problems.
FURTHER TIPS FOR CREATING NODES
Don’t worry about trying to replace all of Discord’s features right away; each activity can be on a different platform, and you are welcome to create as many nodes as you can sustain — just avoid Discord and other vulnerable or hostile platforms.
- Look to the past (blogging, listservs, VOIP, and bulletin boards) as well as the future (mesh networks & decentralized social media). These are just examples; the true range of options will depend on where players develop as NODES.
- Focus on sustaining something small and active for weeks, maybe months, at a time and let it develop organically from there. We strongly recommend joining at least two NODES with distinct membership and different “owners”.
- Without one perfect alternative at the ready, you have the opportunity to expand your scope and find new ways to deepen your connections. No app or platform is perfect, but by exploring a wide range of alternatives players have a better chance to find a permanent home fast.
ARE WE ALLOWED TO PLAY MULTIPLE GAMES OF H&S WITH OTHER SERVERS/PLATFORMS?
Absolutely! In fact, we encourage it! Just make sure folks know which platforms you’re moving away from and why, and give them advance notice to start developing NODES. Ideally, you’d have a start date to announce, but you’ll rarely get much warning.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SERVER DURING THE GAME?
Hopefully, Discord notices a significant drop in its user base and rethinks their business plan. But if they do not, the server will remain mostly empty, likely with some lingering users who could not play HIDE & SEEK or got tagged “out” and gave up. They can be entrusted as archivists, a skeleton crew, or even a special NODE, albeit a compromised one, based on the circumstances of your network. It should be clear to all where ownership of the server lies, what access and roles remain, and how to reach important contacts who are away playing HIDE & SEEK.
We don’t currently recommend archiving or deleting servers (just to let them go dormant), but just in case: now is a great time to archive your links and memes. Make sure you have at least one other platform where you can connect with your favorite network connections.
WHAT IF I CAN’T PLAY
Alternatives to playing include creating new Discord handles, creating new Discord servers, changing devices or using VPNs, or deleting Discount accounts, but these are temporary measures at best.
If you remain active in this server, you are a spectator to the game. You will almost certainly get tagged and others may choose not to engage with you on this platform, but it isn’t personal. They are making the best choice for them just as you are making the best choice for you. We hope you’ll keep the spirit of OFC advancing in your own way and find ways to stay connected.
ANYTHING ELSE
Updates & invites to ongoing events will be sent via the OFC newsletter. Follow us on social media platforms. Attend events to let us get to know you and some people may invite you into their node after a few visits. We are currently in the process of researching a new home for OFC outside of Discord.
This is brought to you by the people who make up this wonderful crip-community. Donate to support making it accessible and grab a copy of the above via PDF on our Resources links. Donations will be used to continue providing access services for our events and programing.