Gentle
Consumer and social
anonymous peer support app
SHOW HN2020
236points
126comments
#213of 3,028 in 2020
Top 8%of 2020 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
21 positive, 13 neutral or asking, 7 mixed, 12 critical, out of 53 comments about the project. Thread score +0.25.
Idea: 5 for, 8 againstDesign: 10 for, 1 againstExecution: 2 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
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
What HN said
What people liked
Design and UI execution praised
From 4 comments
Just tried it and my oh my, the design is amazing and it really makes the whole experience much better. I really love both the idea and the execution and I can’t wait to see…
sleepyfran on HNWon't comment on the idea but I love the execution. The design is cheerful without being maudlin, clear without being cluttered. Super impressive!
puranjay on HNThe UI and UX are serendipitous and feels almost joyous just to click and scroll. Well done. I see this app was done in Flutter. What was the motivation to choose Flutter over…
dlivingston on HNCool landing page. I first thought the tilted elements would be a bit jarring, but then I kinda started to like them. Stimulates your brain a little bit more. Nice trick. Can't…
tekkk on HN
Idea of kindness-focused app appreciated
From 2 comments
This is amazing. Feels so nice. I hope this grows to something awesome. One of my colleagues had the similar idea and we were discussing of creating a webapp for it. Lol, too…
abhishekjha on HNSo basically, /r/toastme in an app? This might work. Great initiative.
eranation on HN
Objections
Trolls and abuse would be hard to prevent at scale
From 2 comments
I was just reading through the 'how the app keeps me safe' section. Not trying to be dour, but things like this tend to attract, trolls to put it nicely, if your service expands,…
grawprog on HN"- We moderate the content and provide easy-to-use reporting tools. - We use spam and bad word filters. - We timeout or ban users who repeatedly or flagrantly break our rules. -…
_bxg1 on HN
Moderation requires many staff as service grows
From 1 comment
I was just reading through the 'how the app keeps me safe' section. Not trying to be dour, but things like this tend to attract, trolls to put it nicely, if your service expands,…
grawprog on HN
Similar to existing social media moderation, not innovative
From 1 comment
"- We moderate the content and provide easy-to-use reporting tools. - We use spam and bad word filters. - We timeout or ban users who repeatedly or flagrantly break our rules. -…
_bxg1 on HN
Requests
Text selection in message editing
From 1 comment
The design is great. I noticed that I can’t select text while writing, which is frustrating and makes editing very difficult.
tobr on HN
iPad support
From 1 comment
This works really well, nice! Do you plan iPad support? It’s frustrating that I can’t send my email in a reply, there was a message I’d have liked to give my email and start a…
mcintyre1994 on HN
Reactions or thank-you feature
From 1 comment
Thanks for the app. I love the functionality. Why do messages in the mailbox disappear? I want them always to remain! Especially when they are so good. Also, grouping responses…
yogodojo on HN
Android version
From 1 comment
It was built with the cross-platform framework Flutter, so an android version will be coming soon! (I just don't have an android device to test with right now)
andrewthebold on HN
Questions
Why Flutter over React Native or SwiftUI
From 2 comments
The UI and UX are serendipitous and feels almost joyous just to click and scroll. Well done. I see this app was done in Flutter. What was the motivation to choose Flutter over…
dlivingston on HNProps on your design + dev execution. I noticed your personal website mentions building products with React Native, but in this thread you mentioned Gentle was built with…
tropshop on HN
Privacy implications of Firebase
From 1 comment
I always wondered about the privacy implications of using Google Firebase, but didn't yet take the time to investigate it thoroughly.
rapnie on HN
Alternatives named
Kind Words
From 2 comments
If you're looking for a more gamey-version of this concept, check out Kind Words. I'm a big fan of it!
andrewthebold on HNSuper intentional. I haven't quite gotten to the cuteness and customization in animal crossing though. Also checkout the game "Kind Words", which was a big inspiration for this.
andrewthebold on HN
Reddit r/toastme or r/RandomKindness
From 2 comments
So basically, /r/toastme in an app? This might work. Great initiative.
eranation on HNYeah! or /r/RandomKindness
andrewthebold on HN
Facebook Groups or subreddits
From 1 comment
Can't I just make a Facebook Group or a subreddit to do this instead of a whole new app?
personjerry on HN
Emotional Baggage Check
From 1 comment
Reminds me of https://emotionalbaggagecheck.com/
prox on HN