I completely agree. I joined a group there that wasn't enormous, but even so I felt so over-stimulated by the constant stream of discussion. It seemed impossible to keep up. As a result I haven't been on there in ages. Yep, and the auto start part of it is really annoying.
There is a character called Discord on a show my kids watch. It is a freaky looking dragon-ish creature that is always trouble. I think maybe this Discord should adopt him as mascot.
This was an entertaining read. And helpful - I didn't know about the spying stuff, but I guess I should have guessed.