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Ask HN: Is there a masterbation-free site where I can have random conversations?

16 points by notetoself ↗ HN
Is there an online community where I can have a random video conversation to meet some great people/hone my social skills?

I'm looking for a reputable one (no masterbaters!) where I can match with likeminded people and simply have a short video conversation.

Being a remote software developer means I spend large amounts of time isolated in my own head, and I'd love to break up my day with 15 minute conversations with random, awesome individuals.

If this doesn't exist, please let me know if you'd also find value in something like this.

I'm currently between projects and I might build it myself :)

31 comments

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smt88
> I might build it myself

Build it if you think it'd be fun or something worthwhile for your CV. Don't build it because you want it to be a useful, nudity-free chat service. People have tried that (including Chat Roulette itself).

It's hard to get people to use things with their real identities. Unfortunately, anonymity also enables trolling. I think it's impossible to have a random chat site without masturbation. It is, bizarrely, part of human nature to troll.

Honing your social skills can be hard, but you might want to try clubs or meetups in your city. Video chat isn't much like real-life socializing anyway.

notetoself
I think it's possible to more or less exclude nudity.

If you kick out anonymity and build out profiles around user's social networks (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc), which something like this would do, there are some good ways to 1) be pretty sure of identity and 2) make sure people can't create duplicate accounts.

With those parameters I think out of the gate people are less likely to whip out their junk, and, if they still do it multiple times, they can effectively be banned.

cweagans
You mean I can't create another account on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn? Weird. I was under the impression that it was easy.

Social network linking != nudity filter.

jaredsohn
You can require a minimum number of connections; this isn't perfect since there are ways to fake this out as well, but I don't think it can be done for without investing time or money. (Also, it means that if you don't have many friends/etc. that you cannot use the service.)
smt88
"Real identity" is a barrier to nudity/trolling, but it's also a barrier to user acquisition. I'm personally very selective about linking FB or LinkedIn to a site, even if it's only for login credentials. I think AngelList is my only link right now.
mayank127
Well a WhatsApp like service can provide real users without duplication and phone numbers are pretty good source of identity.

Such service would not reveal the number to anyone or won't need number to connect but to just verify profiles.

nailer
Leverage FB's graph and require a long held account with a few hundred followers. Datch (now Her), one of the YC companies did this.
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orbifold
Hm, maybe if you build one yourself, require something like a github account for chatting but don't reveal the identity to the parties. That way you can ban people that get reported for inappropriate behavior and random weirdos are unlikely to have a github account.

Setting something up that uses webrtc is not all that hard... :)

notetoself
GitHub is too niche.

I would want to meet people from all walks of life, not just fellow software developers.

NumberCruncher
You could try buliding an email list with people interested in this kind of chatting and could use skype or whatever software you prefer.
xena
Why not talk to people on IRC? irc.ponychat.net #geek is my usual haunt.
notetoself
Typing on IRC is still pretty "in-your-head".

The idea is to replicate online, as much as possible, the experience of having a face-to-face conversation.

wvenable
I like face-to-face conversations but I'm not a fan of video conversations. In fact, I prefer audio-only if I have to conference in. Maybe if you made it audio only that might make for better conversations and a reduction in "masterbaters".
palidanx
I second an audio only approach. To me this would filter out a lot of the potentially scandalous video conversations you might have.

Audio also forces both users to focus just on the conversation and takes away the worries of how you look, lighting, etc.

With audio, you remove some of the friction of having a webcam, laptop, etc for video unlike for audio you could potentially integrate it to a cell service.

fl0wenol
I find it strange to live in an internet future where there is a canternet and a ponychat and both have more active users than say... 2600net.
mrits
Maybe just create a new bracelet that means "open to random conversations" and hang out at coffee shops. Yeah, that seems like the easiest solution.
[dead] n7c3c1
No site is safe from masturbating pervs.

Not even this one.

...

...

...

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

panglott
Seems like there should be something like this for language exchange. Or tabletop gaming.
SteveWatson
www.dictionary.com for spelling English words
jkrejci
LOL NO WELCOME TO THE INTERNET.
unohoo
There's value in this -- ping me if you want to discuss more.
mayank127
I like the idea and would like to join the discussion.
xyclos
For years people have been using speaking to themselves in a mirror as a method for improving social skills. The digital version of this is probably streaming. Maybe you could try something like stre.am or periscope for practicing speaking to others and of course you would greatly reduce the number of "jerks" you encounter as long as you're the only one in the conversation streaming video. (disclosure: I work for the company that makes stre.am)
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Mz
Make online friends. See if they will talk with you via an existing service, such as Skype.

I have had lots of online friends over the years and talked by phone, met in person, done video chats and other kinds of chat. "No masturbation" is more about the social connections you make, not the platform you use per se.

S4M
How about building it, then inviting only people who you trust not to put nudity or bad things in general, and thenm if it takes off, making the website accepting only users who have been invited by current members?
relaxman
I tought and searched for this 3 Days ago. Found nothing. I'm interested!
smaudet
1) Build site 2) Put up the 'masterbation section' 3) Create reputations 4) Don't go to the masterbation section 5) Talk to reputable people.

I mean, how do you choose who to talk to IRL? I don't make you login to FB in order to chat with me.

BorisMelnik
I've always thought this was a really cool idea, but every time I've tried I've encountered a really disgusting side of the web I pretend doesn't exist.

The real question is, how do you prevent flash-masturbators/nudists etc from infecting your random video chat community?

Sure you could have a flag feature that auto-bans or temp-bans until moderation. Maybe some sort of video algorithm that detects a certain percentage of "skin" on the screen?

I think one of the most obvious suggestions is to require an account for reach user, confirm email etc. That at least will weed out a lot of it.