Personal Project

2025

Uncovering how to increase user trust in Discord support tickets

Exploring the black box within Discord's support ticket timeline where user trust degrades

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

Nov 2025 (1 Week)

Team

1 designer

Platform

Web Browser

Role

Product Designer

Timeline

Nov 2025 (1 Week)

Team

1 designer

Platform

Web Browser

Overview

Inadequate communication during the ticket resolution phase erodes user trust

Discord's support ticket system handles a significant volume of user reports daily across Trust and Safety, technical issues, and account concerns. Despite the platform's streamlined submission process, users consistently express frustration with the support experience—not with submitting tickets, but with what happens after. As a Discord user since 2015 who has submitted tickets myself, I recognized this friction firsthand.

This case study explores how inadequate communication during the ticket resolution phase erodes user trust, and proposes a design solution to restore transparency and reduce anxiety throughout the support journey.

Highlights

Challenge: Discord users consistently report frustration with opaque support ticket resolution processes
Tools: Perplexity AI (research assistant), Figma (prototyping)
Outcome: High-fidelity prototype introducing progress transparency features

Disclaimer

This project is an independent UX research and design exploration conducted out of personal curiosity and interest in improving a platform I have used for years. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or created in partnership with Discord, Inc. All insights are based on publicly available information and user feedback shared in public forums. Design concepts presented are personal proposals and do not represent official Discord products or plans. Discord is a registered trademark of Discord, Inc.

Research Question

Designing for the right problem

Initial Question:
How does friction in Discord's reporting system impact users' ability to submit support tickets, and what improvements could increase completion and satisfaction rates?

What I Actually Discovered:
Through research, I found that submission wasn't the problem—users could file tickets easily. The real friction occurred during the resolution phase, where lack of transparency left users feeling abandoned and frustrated.

Design Thinking: Double Diamond

I used the Double Diamond method to move from broad exploration to focused solution.

Research

Leveraging AI assistance and feeling like Tony Stark

Data Collection

I analyzed 19 user-submitted posts from:

Reddit discussions on Discord support experiences
Discord Help Center Forum feedback
Trustpilot reviews (Discord overall rating: 1.3/5 stars)

Key Metrics Tracked

Pain Point Frequency - How often specific issues were mentioned
Sentiment Ratings - Emotional tone of feedback (majority negative)
Feedback Loop Clarity - Whether users understood ticket status and outcomes

Thematic Coding

From 19 analyzed posts, I identified five recurring themes. Users frequently mentioned multiple pain points in a single experience, indicating compounding frustration.

Key Patterns:

Nearly half (47.37%) of users felt they were only interacting with automated responses, leading to feelings of exhaustion from trying to reach a human
Resolution clarity issues (42.11%) left users confused about what actually happened with their tickets
Combined with general dissatisfaction (42.11%), users expressed anger and frustration at outcomes that didn't meet their expectations
The "solved" status (26.32%) created hopelessness when tickets were closed without meaningful resolution

Sentiment Analysis

I created an empathy map based on the emotional language patterns identified in each theme:

Users Feel:

Tired/Exhausted - "I've tried everything to get a human response"
Angry/Frustrated - "This isn't what I reported, they didn't even address it"
Confused - "I don't understand what 'closed' means for my case"
Hopeless - "They just marked it closed and moved on"
Neutral (resignation) - "I guess I'll just submit another ticket"

Users Say:

"Am I even talking to a person?"
"It just says 'closed' with no explanation"
"They solved nothing but closed the ticket anyway"
"I've submitted three tickets about the same issue"

Users Think:

"My report doesn't matter to them"
"The system is designed to avoid helping me"
"Why bother reporting if nothing happens?"
"They're hiding behind automation"

Users Do:

Submit multiple tickets for the same issue (21.05% explicitly mentioned this)
Complain publicly on Reddit, forums, and Trustpilot
Search for alternative contact methods

User Flow Map

I mapped the current support ticket journey based on:

Personal experience submitting tickets
Publicly available documentation
In-app reporting flow testing (not submitted to avoid creating false tickets)

Current Flow:

User encounters issue → 2. Submits ticket via Help Center or In-App Reporting (IAR) → 3. Receives confirmation → 4. [Friction Zone] → 5. Ticket closed or unresolved

The "friction zone" represents where users lose visibility and trust begins to break down, with most of the degradation occurring at the Resolution Phase.

Insights

Turning research findings into insights

💡 Key Insight: UX Degrades at the Resolution Stage

While Discord has invested in making ticket submission straightforward, with improved IAR and easy access to requesting a support ticket, the resolution phase lacks fundamental UX principles:

✗ No visibility into ticket progress
✗ No feedback on what actions were taken
✗ No clarity on why a ticket was closed
✗ No recourse if users disagree with outcomes

Given the platform's large user base and active community reporting culture, even a small percentage of poor support experiences translates to thousands of frustrated users creating negative sentiment online and diminishing trust in the platform.

⚠️ Problem Statement

Users submitting Trust and Safety reports on Discord experience significant emotional friction during the resolution phase due to inadequate communication, lack of transparency, and unclear outcomes—which undermines their trust in the platform and may discourage future reporting.

✨ Solution

Core Feature: Multi-Stage Progress Indicator

I propose a visual progress bar system that replaces ambiguous status labels ("open" → "closed") with transparent, meaningful milestones throughout the ticket lifecycle.

Progress Stages:

Received - Ticket submitted and logged in the system
In Review - Being assessed by Trust & Safety team
Dialogue - Communication exchange or investigation phase
Solution - Decision made and action taken
Resolved - Ticket closed with outcome summary

Why This Works:

Reduces anxiety - Users know where their ticket stands at any moment
Builds trust - Demonstrates active attention and progress on reports
Sets expectations - Each stage implies forward movement through the process
Signals communication - The "Dialogue" stage indicates discussion is happening, addressing the 47.37% who felt they were only interacting with automation
Prevents duplicate tickets - Users don't resubmit out of uncertainty (addresses the 21.05% who file multiple tickets)

Supporting Feature: Empathetic UX Writing

Given Discord's use of automation to handle support volume efficiently, the language used in responses becomes even more critical. Whether delivered by AI bots or human support, responses should use clear, empathetic language that makes users feel heard—especially during the "Dialogue" stage.

Current: "Your ticket has been closed."

Improved: "We've reviewed your report and taken action based on our Community Guidelines. While we can't share specific details due to privacy, your report helped keep Discord safer. Thank you."

During Dialogue Stage:
Instead of generic automated responses, messages should acknowledge the specific issue and indicate progress:

Current: "We are reviewing your ticket."

Improved: "We're looking into the situation you reported. We may reach out if we need more information from you. You can reply to this message anytime."

This combination of visual progress tracking and thoughtful communication addresses both the informational needs (where is my ticket?) and emotional needs (does anyone care?) that users expressed in the research.

Design

Turning research insights into design decisions

Mockup: Help Center Ticket View

I created a stylized mockup of Discord's Help Center showing how users would view an active ticket with the new progress indicator.

High-Fidelity Prototype

The progress bar visually tracks each stage of the ticket lifecycle as it's completed. With a visual indicator like this, users can experience more transparency and reduced anxiety about the status of their ticket.

With Discord's use of automation to handle large volumes of tickets, responses from both human and AI support benefit from more empathetic scripting. This can help ease the emotional friction users currently experience.

Lessons

Lift vs impact analysis

📈 Business Impact

This solution creates value across multiple dimensions:

User Experience

Reduced anxiety through transparent communication
Increased trust in platform safety commitment
Higher satisfaction with support interactions

Operational Efficiency

Fewer duplicate tickets from uncertain users
Reduced support burden from status inquiries
Maintained automation while improving experience

Business Metrics

Improved retention - Trust translates to continued platform use
Enhanced reputation - Positive sentiment vs. current negative reviews
Legal compliance - Demonstrates active trust & safety efforts

Community Health

Engaged users - Feel heard and valued
Long-term revenue - Healthier communities support growth

Success Metrics

To validate this solution, I would measure:

Quantitative:

Reduction in duplicate ticket submissions
Increase in user satisfaction scores (CSAT)
Decrease in "status inquiry" support contacts
Improved Trustpilot/public sentiment ratings
Ticket resolution time perception

Qualitative:

User feedback on clarity and helpfulness
Sentiment analysis of post-implementation reviews
Trust & Safety team feedback on user interactions

🚀 Next Steps

If I were to take this project further, I would focus on validation and iterative implementation:

Immediate Validation (Weeks 1-2)

Usability testing with 8-10 Discord users across different experience levels
Prototype refinement based on user feedback
Stakeholder interviews with Trust & Safety team to ensure feasibility

Phase 1 Implementation (Months 1-2)

A/B testing progress bar vs. current status system
Copy testing for empathetic messaging variations
Technical integration with existing ticketing infrastructure

Phase 2 Enhancement (Months 3-6)

Notification system for automatic stage updates
Estimated resolution times based on historical data
Feedback mechanism at ticket closure
Appeal/review option for disputed outcomes

Future Considerations

AI-powered status explanations tailored to specific violation types
Self-service status dashboard for users with multiple tickets
Proactive communication for high-wait-time periods

💭 Reflection

What I Learned

About Discord Users:
Trust and safety isn't just about enforcement—it's about making users feel heard. The emotional dimension of reporting is as important as the functional one.

About Research:
My initial assumption (submission friction) was wrong. Letting the data guide me to the real problem (resolution opacity) was crucial. This reinforced the importance of staying open during the Observe phase.

About AI-Assisted Research:
Using Perplexity as a research assistant expedited thematic analysis and pattern recognition, but human judgment was still essential for interpreting nuance and emotional context. AI excelled at helping me organize data; I excelled at understanding what it meant and using it to influence a design decision.

Key Aha Moment:
When I mapped the user flow and saw the "friction zone" between submission and resolution, it crystallized the problem. Users don't need perfection—they need visibility.