Comment by kevincox

While I agree that the locked-off history is a downside to me I think this is actually a benifit to the target audience.

A lot of people want to start communities and this lock in if knowledge and constant asking of the same questions keeps a view of activity and boosts users numbers. It also gives a more personal feel that may encourage people to stay.

Especially for streamers who are trying to make a personal-feeling connection I suspect this is incredibly valuable. Especially if you offload a lot of the repetitive work to unpaid moderators.

Basically the goal of Discord isn't to hold and organize information. The information is just a lure. The search feature exists so that you can convince yourself that the history is useful and available. This leads to people needing to come in and engage in a personal-feeling way.