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by smt88 3882 days ago
> 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.
2 comments
notetoself 3882 days ago
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.

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cweagans 3882 days ago
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.

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jaredsohn 3881 days ago
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.)
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smt88 3882 days ago
"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.
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mayank127 3882 days ago
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.

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nailer 3882 days ago
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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