I think any other suggestion might alienate or make it harder for people to join, and they may come with their own caveats, even Matrix might be too much for some. I was thinking IRC maybe but that is probably too far for most. Discord does seem like the safe option.
Kind of a weird platform choice.
The specific distro doesn’t really matter. What matters is package choice (being able to do the few things you listed with the apps you would like to use). I guess if you’re among the Debian evangelists you probably value stability more than any other consideration. Just pick some server distro or Debian again.
While I understand the anger at the residential system I wouldn’t go and burn the buildings down. My mom is a residential school survivor and I’m sure it was a significant factor that affected that side of my family in various (negative) ways. I still wouldn’t go and burn down the church.
Nailed it. John_McMurray is another joke of an example of someone on the right.