How does one even join a private server / lobby? I didn't know this was possible.

Join our review discord and follow the steps in the application-steps text channel. After you gain access to our main discord, review and agree to our rules, there will be instructions for setting up the share private lobby we use. It is a text file with a unique text string in it that is placed inside the game files.

I like how the core argument of PVP is not addressed in the main post. The main crux of Online play. Friendly? By what measure? Define your rules of engagement, then offer help.

Originally posted by Nubetastic:

Once your account is reviewed you will gain access to our main discord and the lobby.

IOW: Once one of our esteemed pedestal power-tripped admins snarl at you, we may deem you worthy of mentorship. Bow in reverence. GTFO.

Originally posted by ∆ тємрцѕ яеі ‡:

I like how the core argument of PVP is not addressed in the main post. The main crux of Online play. Friendly? By what measure? Define your rules of engagement, then offer help.

Originally posted by Nubetastic:

Once your account is reviewed you will gain access to our main discord and the lobby.

IOW: Once one of our esteemed pedestal power-tripped admins snarl at you, we may deem you worthy of mentorship. Bow in reverence. GTFO.

We review users game stats for anomalies that mod menu users normally have. We do this as a preventative from having mod menu users join the lobby to bully our members. This also keeps the lobby from having the many glitches that public sessions have.

No one has made any PvP arguments in this thread, so not sure what core argument you are revering to.
All of our rules are listed in our recruitment discord server so people can review them before even applying. As for PvP these are our PvP rules.

Open/Mission PvP is allowed.
Once the mission ends or someone surrenders PvP stops, and surrenderer must leave area to prevent accidental PvP.
Moonshine Sales are off limits.
Only the first Trade Sale attempt can be stolen. No fire, dynamite or destroying the wagon.
Don't intentionally kill a persons horse, or use exploits.

As for power tripping, only a select few have the power to ban anyone from the discord. To ban someone from the lobby they first need to be removed from discord and then the whole discord needs to use a new lobby code, so it's a process.

Are there any other concerns?

For new players who want to play in a private group 😊🌶🍗🍖🧀

well well well, i have joined (pending approval ), i wonder how this will turn out , hopefully good , how long does approval take ? a day , a week ?

aight might try this. since iam coming back to playing this. hopefully got approved. but as mention above how long does the approval takes?

i was approved within an hour or 2 , works fine , i was in a session with one other person , everything works as it should , no problems

We have a handful of people processing approvals since we evaluate players to make sure the lobby remains as stable as possible. Approval can take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours depending on when a person is online to review. As we grow we plan to have more reviewers which will speed the process up.

i'd rather you be thorough than fast , it's nice to be able to go into a public lobby and not be wondering how long before my horse is blown up or it's raining aligators

Originally posted by BrainDead:

aight might try this. since iam coming back to playing this. hopefully got approved. but as mention above how long does the approval takes?

UPDATES : they actually good private lobby. go join them if you guys doubt it.

This is a great way to meet other players who just want to enjoy the game and not endure the horrors of public lobbies.
Joined recently and found a Grief free friendly group that always seem to have something going on. No pressure to be involved, but the option to be if that suits your play style. Active players across most time zones.

I went ahead and applied. I do like the freedom of "being my own man" in Online, compared to story mode. I still don't know how to join a private lobby once approved, but hopefully the full discord will tell me.

Oh, I didn't even consider this until now - where in the world is this private server? If not in USA, I might have an issue with latency and lag.

Originally posted by Captain Canard:

Oh ...I might have an issue with latency and lag.

By default the game seems to place you in the lobby with people closest to you geographically, but it might be done by ping. I get paired with players from the US which makes sense, but I can still participate with European players if I want by changing sessions.
There is a bit of lag but it is acceptable. For no lag you need to play by yourself in a solo lobby - no fun in that.