Scaler Discord Community Portal

Overview

Scaler learners are grouped into batch specific Discord communities. This portal replaces open link sharing with a decoupled, verify then reveal flow: a learner enters their Scaler email, receives a one time code, and only after verifying ownership sees their batch's channel link, invite code, and group name.

The Problem

Learners previously asked mentors or support for their Discord link one by one, a recurring support ticket category with real risk of link leakage and learners joining the wrong batch's community.

Key Features

• Email ownership verification via a 6 digit, cryptographically generated OTP before any Discord details are revealed.
• Segmented OTP input with autofill and paste distribution, auto advance, and auto submit once all 6 digits are entered.
• Dynamic per learner data: channel link, invite code, and group name pulled live from the roster.
• An embedded how to join Discord video guide for newcomers.
• Anti abuse guardrails: 60 second resend cooldown, a 5 attempt cap that burns the code, and session auto sign out on shared devices.

How It Works

1. 01Learner enters their Scaler registered email on a static, framework free frontend.
2. 02A Google Apps Script backend checks the email against a private roster sheet and emails a 6 digit OTP, valid for 10 minutes.
3. 03On correct OTP entry, the backend mints a short lived session token held only in memory, never in cookies or local storage.
4. 04The token resolves to the learner's batch specific Discord channel link, invite code, and group name, fetched live from the roster.
5. 05Every step, from page visit to copy click, is logged to an analytics sheet for funnel visibility.

Product Thinking

• Verify then reveal, not open links. Discord details are only ever returned after email ownership verification, closing the leak and wrong batch join risk at the source.
• Trust as a feature, not decoration. For a non technical, mobile first audience, the disclosure copy about never asking for a password is a conversion feature, because a verification page can otherwise look exactly like phishing.
• Boosted the community active learner rate from 32% to 51% by centralizing access instead of routing every learner through a manual, one off ask.
• Right sized engineering. A static frontend and a serverless backend, matched to cohort scale and a non engineering operator, optimized for time to value over architectural sophistication.

Tech Stack