Seven39
Consumer and social
time-boxed social media
SHOW HN2025
735points
349comments
#35of 3,837 in 2025
Top 1%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments
33 positive, 84 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 44 critical, out of 163 comments about the project. Thread score -0.08.
Idea: 29 for, 23 againstExecution: 1 for, 13 againstDesign: 0 for, 6 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 againstDocs: 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
Idea is fun and interesting as a restriction experiment
From 4 comments
I think it's a really cool idea. I signed up because I had a brain fart and thought that "EST" was "European Standard Time" (I was of course thinking of CET). So yeah, the…
simonkagedal on HNWhen I lost my job the local unemployment office website would “close” outside of real world office hours. I thought that was annoying but also amusing. I do really like this…
duxup on HNNeat idea. I always thought it would be interesting to have social media with limitations of some sort, such as limiting number of posts per day per person (to discourage people…
allenu on HNInteresting idea. Among my projects, there's a website blocker, and wasting time on social media is really one of the pain points for many people. I’m curious to see the…
kotik11 on HN
Objections
Time zones make a single EST window exclude most of the world
From 4 comments
It's an interesting idea, but if it's only open at a convenient time for a particular group, it's going to lack diverse and worldwide perspectives, and those are important for…
danpalmer on HNI think there is an idea there, but this obviously won't work. Here are some large drawbacks: * timezones, most of the world is not on EST. If you make it per timezone, then not…
xtrimsky1234 on HNTime zones are a problem. It will be 5am for me next time this will be open which is too early but since it opens for 3 hours, I might be able to check in for the second half of…
FrequentLurker on HN> It is just based on EST for now, sorry. What happens during dailight savings time?
adolph on HN
A fixed three-hour evening window doesn't fit everyone's schedule
From 2 comments
I think there is an idea there, but this obviously won't work. Here are some large drawbacks: * timezones, most of the world is not on EST. If you make it per timezone, then not…
xtrimsky1234 on HNI love internet concepts like this. Just silly fun experiments. This one appears to exclude anyone in a relationship in almost every US timezone.
mtillman on HN
Requests
Use per-user or rotating time windows instead of fixed EST
From 4 comments
Going perhaps even further in this direction, the 3 hour window could shift by an hour every day. All the other solutions I see to the time zone problem are pushing the idea in…
furyofantares on HNGreat idea, but it should be open 24/7 with eight 3-hour windows. One account can only use a single window during the 24-hour period. This will handle the timezone differences.
improbableinf on HNI think the timezones issue can be solved by the user just initially picking their timezone and it stays sticky and you can't change it (maybe for a fee you could = some income…
nout on HNThis really did put a smile on my face. Though my first thought was the timezone issue. Maybe have a user register to a timezone which can be changed twice a month or so (for…
qwertox on HN
Show local time of the window to visitors
From 1 comment
There should be a tooltip or an element (with text) displaying my current time in comparison to the already specified time, just so I can tell when that window would be in my…
johnisgood on HN
Questions
What happens during daylight saving time?
From 1 comment
> It is just based on EST for now, sorry. What happens during dailight savings time?
adolph on HN
Alternatives named
BeReal
From 2 comments
Sounds like a variant of the "BeReal" concept: "Its main feature is a daily notification that encourages users to share photos of themselves with friends in their day-to-day…
xnx on HNReminds me a little bit of early days of BeReal.
nkotov on HN
Dispo
From 1 comment
This is a fantastic idea. It reminded me of the Dispo app (not sure if people use it anymore) where pictures you take show up only the next day morning. It might be alright to…
jeswin on HN