FlyByChat on HackerShow

Consumer and social

anonymous chat

SHOW HN2010

The site I'm working on. Looking for feedback.

Shown by bdr on Jun 20, 2010. Click the card to turn it over.

13points

22comments

#104of 370 in 2010

Top 29%of 2010 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

2 positive, 4 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 4 critical, out of 12 comments about the project. Thread score -0.08.

Design: 1 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstExecution: 0 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 1 againstIdea: 1 for, 0 against

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

Clean, nice UI
From 3 comments
- - UI is nice. Excellent idea. Was able to quickly use the site and chat with two people. - The space to say something is small. - Can improve on giving more visual feedback -…
  Yesh on HN
- The ui is very nice, I really like the ability to add more chat windows side by side. The obvious problem is that there don't seem to be very many people online.
  ent on HN
- Looks great, the site. Would add sound notification on message arrival (optional).
  malloc on HN
Location features appealing
From 1 comment
- Nice - the location features are something I definitely wanted while messing around on Chatroulette and Omegle.
  arram on HN

Not clearly anonymous; Facebook profile linked in global chat
From 1 comment
- You should tell people that the global chat room isn't anonymous, and that their facebook profile will be linked in the chat room. It's always bad when users have to find out…
  veemjeem on HN
Hangs on 'finding partner' when few users online
From 2 comments
- Nice idea, but it hangs on "finding partner", which kind of sucks (I closed the window after about 30 secs)
  petervandijck on HN
- I think the hanging is probably that there was no one else looking. You don't have cookies disabled, do you?
  bdr on HN
Slow or blank initial load
From 1 comment
- To me (Safari 5/Mac) this site is a big blue screen with no content except an "About" link that doesn't work. I waited five to ten seconds before giving up. I'm using a 3G…
  mechanical_fish on HN
Few people online
From 1 comment
- The ui is very nice, I really like the ability to add more chat windows side by side. The obvious problem is that there don't seem to be very many people online.
  ent on HN
Chat window renders compressed in Chrome
From 1 comment
- On chrome, it looks a little strange. The chat window is all compressed into one line. http://imgur.com/ldNpV
  veemjeem on HN

Show when chat partner is typing; update title bar
From 1 comment
- I'd like to see when my chat partner is actually active (like in typing) and stuff or update the title bar of the window. also an option to enlarge the chat window would be nice.
  jrnkntl on HN
Clearer call to action, e.g. 'Start a Chat Now'
From 1 comment
- I'd suggest making a single, clear call to action. Perhaps "Chat anonymously with a random partner" would be the best option to drive attention to first, since it requires the…
  spking on HN
Enlarge or maximize chat panels
From 2 comments
- I'd like to see when my chat partner is actually active (like in typing) and stuff or update the title bar of the window. also an option to enlarge the chat window would be nice.
  jrnkntl on HN
- - UI is nice. Excellent idea. Was able to quickly use the site and chat with two people. - The space to say something is small. - Can improve on giving more visual feedback -…
  Yesh on HN
Sound notification on message arrival
From 1 comment
- Looks great, the site. Would add sound notification on message arrival (optional).
  malloc on HN
Loading message and status feedback
From 2 comments
- - UI is nice. Excellent idea. Was able to quickly use the site and chat with two people. - The space to say something is small. - Can improve on giving more visual feedback -…
  Yesh on HN
- Might be a good idea to let the user know that's the case so that they don't mistake it with hanging.
  sev on HN

Is it ugly, and do users know what to do on arrival?
From 1 comment
- Submitter here. Thanks for checking out my site. I'm looking for feedback on all levels: the UI and implementation, the product idea, and the market. Particular questions: do you…
  bdr on HN
Is Omegle not also anonymous chat?
From 1 comment
- isn't omegle anonymous chat too?
  veemjeem on HN