[gotostatement]

I think it's a really cool idea but you have a network effect issue. I would expect it to be hard to get enough of my friends on it for it to be useful. Integrations with existing message apps and environments would be ideal, though I'm not exactly sure how that would look.

[dmitryminkovsky]

Hey thanks a lot.

Network effects will definitely be the #1 challenge. I considered integrations—I first tried Pony as an email service, actually. I wanted it to be as accessible as possible. This led to a lot of problems, specifically you get this asymmetry and confusion of some people being on Pony and others being in instant real-time. All of our existing platforms come with norms and expectations, and using a non-instant integration was often perceived as anti-social, which was really unfortunate because I was trying to build something pro-social. You also lose this effect of it being a special place.

Anyway, it is hard to get people on, but fortunately the idea seems to be unique enough and resonate enough with that there's already a seemingly dedicated (albeit small) userbase. It suggests that maybe network effects will be possible to overcome. Everything has to start somewhere!

[webwanderings]

It's a novel idea, and you're correct to keep it out of integration.

Assume, for a moment, that your idea takes off and becomes the next WhatsApp. People, you know, will find ways to return to their normal selves. They'll cram a ton of links and messages into their allotted time slots.

What you're attempting to address is a fundamental flaw in human nature. Many people are aware of the issue and are taking precautions in their daily communication. Many, however, do not.

[dmitryminkovsky]

> and you're correct to keep it out of integration.

Thank you for your support in this. It's a constant exercise in discipline to keep focused in this direction.

> They'll cram a ton of links and messages into their allotted time slots.

I'm not sure people will be inclined to put links and ephemera in here. At least not most people. I do, to some extent, especially when I want to avoid starting a text back-and-forth, but I think instant messaging is a good place for that kind of thing and I suspect it'll stay that way.

[ISL]

Even if the link/message-cramming takes place, it provides a useful impediment to the sender and a bulwark for the recipient.

A wall of text/messages from a relative is more-readily handled in a healthy fashion when it doesn't arrive piecemeal.

[airstrike]

Now I feel like building a small device powered by raspberry pi or something similar that lets one send and receive ponymail thrice a day so that I have a separate device / activity that is markedly different from simply checking my phone

[grenoire]

Wouldn't that be solvable by assigning a Pony-managed reply-to address? That way Pony can still manage how it sends back the replies to you.

I really like email as a comms platform and think that it could greatly benefit Pony.

[OJFord]

I think the point is you'd get a barrage of ill-thought-out/ephemeral/chatty messages all at once in the day, which is maybe worse than being spread out, and certainly not the 'mindful correspondence' goal.

[mrweasel]

There’s also the “issue” of people most likely also have other types of communications with the same people they’ll have on Pony. Means that you could get in a situation where most of their messages will still come in on other channels, and the all the mindfulness will quickly be lost.

It’s a great idea, but without uninstalling other messaging clients the goal of a mindful messaging life seem impossible.

[dmitryminkovsky]

Yeah that's definitely been the case in my experience as well! Some people just send me texts—and that's fine, that's how they want to communicate with me. But other people have embraced Pony and we use it all the time, mostly for things that don't benefit from being sent instantly. I've found that some people "get it" and some people do not. Pony doesn't fix all your other messaging but it creates an opportunity to have mindful correspondence online that you don't otherwise have.

[tomaskafka]

It's very simple - just open your email client once per day. 100 % a same thing, with an existing network, using a tool you already have.

That's what I do anyway :).

[dmitryminkovsky]

This works for some people, but I've found that this requires a level of self-discipline that a lot of people (including myself) don't have.

And more fundamentally, I'd say there's a difference because Pony changes not just how you personally receive messages but also the kind of messages that people send to you. Having that extra time and structure, and knowing that your correspondent does too, can make a qualitative difference.

[dexterdog]

It's not the same when the recipient is not bought into the same delayed concept.

[karmanyaahm]

Building such a thing as a Matrix client might be an interesting concept. Interesting idea tho.