Hey, thanks for the question, and for checking out the game!
You're totally right, the facilitator is a role for you to customize for your exact needs! If you're playing with a monstrously big group and need someone to field questions and monitor the game, a dedicated facilitator (or two!) is a tool for you to use. If you feel like, hey we're all familiar with the structure and want to go wild, no facilitator needed. If you want to play somewhere in the middle, someone can double as a facilitator, or play as a caretaker, or find another solution! Ultimately, you know what will work best for your group, so take whatever rules serve you and toss the rest!
"they set up the discord, explain the character building and then... just keep track of the characters? Just sit there and listen for maybe 4 hours??? Am I missing something or would this be correct? "
This is half-right! The facilitator sets it up, gets it started, and then keeps people on track. As you can imagine, this game gets out of control, fast! The facilitator has a couple tools (the clock, worksheets, the ability to ping players in #ghosts-only and #investigators-only chats) that help make the game run smoothly. The facilitator gets us out of the house and before the seance and plans with both groups for how to reveal any final details. The facilitator also makes sure that everyone gets a chance to go wild during the seance.
Think of the facilitator as a director: they can pull strings, get actors into place, and orchestrate huge moments during the game! Once you hop into a game, you'll be able to see the chaos reigning and all of the cool opportunities all over the place. The facilitator is a player too, watching over the whole house and the freaks running around inside.
And with them keeping track of the characters and getting their secrets beforehand they couldn't participate anyway.
I hear your concern here! I'd say that if the "what" of the secrets and backgrounds are important to you, and you're the facilitator, you can mod the rules to avoid those (such as not using character cards or the facilitator worksheet). But ultimately, this game is all about the "how"! Players running wild in a discord until it's time for the seance.
At the end of the day, play the way you think will be most fun! That's why we made this game all about the tools you can use.
I really appreciate your question, and I'm looking forward to what others have to say!