I think you're doing it in reverse, and that doing so is likely to scare off a vast number of potential users.
You should have some initial filters in place, that the user can then optionally remove as they gradually dip their toes in the water.
There will be no meaningful content created until you do that, because the chat will just always be initially flooded for everyone with the worst kind of vile trash. The first impression will be very bad, and that'll be that.
I don't think content will be an issue if sharing is handled through linking to specific tags (hashtags.chat/NotReallyPrivate instead of hashtags.chat) because of the built in lack of discoverability.
I think I see the points that both @_aaya & @adventured are trying to make.(Either of you guys please correct my recapitulations if I misunderstood.)
I think @_aaya is saying that: while the initial landing may be intimidating for any given visitor, those who are able to take control of the chaos via his/her features will have a rich experience.
I think @adventured is talking about the "customer-lifecycle"(to use a fun buzzword.) since "customer lifecycle" is measured in seconds/milliseconds on the internet, the already important nature of first-impressions get magnified due to the smaller volume of opinions that can be garnered before people just leave.
My opinion: First impressions are critical, especially on the internet. This site clearly has a lot of promise, but may catch on better/faster if there were some tweaks to the beginning of the user-experience.
Maybe it's due to lack of experience, but I guess I didn't consider adoption from a business perspective when designing the initial experience.
Do you think a separate landing page or series of blog posts on Medium could lead to a better first impression? That way I could direct new users to specific tags and bypass the default channel altogether.
So one thing I do like about the landing page is how it shows the constant activity on the website. But oh how treacherous & subtle an art it is catering to the lizard-brain! Imagine blackjack, but where 17, 18, 19, & 20 are all busts (in addition to anything over 21.)
Maybe you could create an overlay that pops up on the users 1st visit (that said everyone hated Clippy...overlays can be really annoying depending on how cumbersome they are.
Or maybe you could divide the landing page in half?
One side being the constant stream, the other being...something more high-level? Like maybe buttons to take you to different tag-channels? a list of top tags & real-time post counts for each? Not really sure here; all subjective opinions of mine & liable to be bad.
If you try other tags and play with the settings, it shouldn't be as bad.