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Show HN: A weekendproject, disposable web chats (beta.mss.gs)

74 points by deviavir ↗ HN
Create a chat, copy the URL, paste it wherever you want. Perfect for those that would like to continue a discussion on a social network without having to sign up for anything.

http://beta.mss.gs/#!/page/home

34 comments

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sim0n
I also built http://prompt.im (http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2457111) around 1 year ago which is pretty similar (doesn't really work anymore). Good luck with it.
deviavir
This opens the authentication discussion. To require authentication or to not require authentication.

The UI looks beautiful though, any plans with it :)?

sim0n
Not currently. It was just a way to learn node.js and to see how fast we could build a somewhat useful app (took 24hrs).
jrussbowman
Similar to what I am doing with http://chatfor.us except I have been planning to add authentication sources to better identify people and control moderation. Your approach is interesting, easier to implement too. I may have to think about that.
deviavir
We're thinking about adding that as well, but didn't see that as a high priority prior to launching a beta!
binarydreams
nice work, i can already guess that it is socket.io + node.js :D

I like the UI, very well done.

deviavir
Thank you :)! And indeed, socket.io + node.js
puppymaster
seriously cool. looks like chat is the new 'to-do list' and I mean that in a good way. if anything it is more fun and interactive to build.

i also did something similar except the chat room generation is automatic and based on your location. Basically http://getyoucoffee.com/ will decide which chat room you are assigned to based on your location. it's pretty huge in cities with subways.

dsrguru
Imagine how useful a location-based video chat site would be for online speed dating.
deviavir
We're thinking about adding popular (trending) topics and indeed position based topics. But these features could wait for the beta launch!

It's a great idea though, thanks for sharing!

sparknlaunch12
Really cool. What is the front and back end?
deviavir
We kept a simple stack.

Frontend: HTML5 CSS3 Javascript (jQuery)

Backend: NodeJS CouchDB

tferris
Why Couch and not Mongo?
deviavir
Our developer understood the views on Couch and simply couldn't get Mongo's views working with nodeJS. It's a human preference and works out perfectly - so far.
why-el
Hey are you guys planning on doing a blog entry on how you developed this? I know next to nothing about Node.js and co and it seems like a good choice for a lot of my ideas.
deviavir
We are now. Look out for next week!
why-el
Where exactly? I wanted to subscribe but I couldn't find a blog url. Probably because of the language. ;)
deviavir
We're actually pretty much starting the whole thing up so don't have a blog URL yet. When we do, those following us on twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/mssgs) will be the first to know where to find the blog.
[deleted]
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uwedeportivo3
Nicely done. Seems like the technology is there now to do this relatively easily. I did it too on Google App Engine. Took me more than a weekend though. Did it for my wife, she uses it on chinese gossip sites.

https://monsterbagua.appspot.com

I used jquery on the front and golang on the back.

deviavir
Indeed it is :) It still was pretty much work to get it really finetuned to deliver an sleek and simple experience!
yashchandra
How do I invite someone else to a chat that I opened ? Copy/paste URL to him/her ? Just wondering. A cool app overall.
deviavir
Yes, we'll be adding an "invite friends" button soon.
sidcool
Not working for me on IE 9
deviavir
We'll try to get it working on IE 9, but can't promise anything yet. We think IE 10 will pick it up better.
wsg
Great UI and very speedy, fantastic work!
deviavir
Thank you, wsg, we'll try to keep it that way :)
th0ma5
did something similar, with some twists http://270rule.appspot.com no (!) usernames, is a bookmarklet to use on top of existing sites, and has a feed for those sites and activities