Wifis.org
Web and SaaS
wifi network contact service
SHOW HN2012
103points
57comments
#213of 1,677 in 2012
Top 13%of 2012 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
5 positive, 18 neutral or asking, 3 mixed, 16 critical, out of 42 comments about the project. Thread score -0.18.
Idea: 5 for, 12 againstDesign: 0 for, 3 againstExecution: 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
Good idea with potential for community and social benefits
From 3 comments
This is a good idea. The market is fairly small (people who are both tech savvy enough to understand what's going on and altruistic enough to want to participate), but that's ok.…
vishl on HNA lot of people don't talk to their neighbours. This has the potential to have lots of social benefits. You could contact people in your vicinity about lost pets, garage sales,…
fudged71 on HNThis makes so much sense in high-rise apartment buildings where everyone has their own cable connection and wireless router. The cable companies don't want you to share your…
savrajsingh on HN
Objections
Can be done by putting an email address in the SSID
From 3 comments
You could just put some piece of contact info in your ESSID?
Zash on HNinteresting idea, but how can the user contact the owner when he currently doesn't have an active internet connection ? I guess the user has to contact the owner from a different…
ing33k on HNWhat's the advantage over renaming my network to "@mikeash", "twitter.com/mikeash", "http://mikeash.com/, or similar?
mikeash on HN
Contacting the owner needs internet access, which users may not have
From 3 comments
Fairly obvious practical detail -- I'm at someplace new, where I don't have internet. I see if there are any open networks, no dice, but I see an encrypted network as…
zx2c4 on HNIt seems like an interesting idea. But without wifi access, it's hard to visit a page to send an email.
dpcx on HNWhile true, it's definitely an inconvenience; especially for one-off uses of wifi.
dpcx on HN
Sharing a home connection may breach ISP contracts and liability laws
From 2 comments
I believe that with nearly any ISP you're contractually prohibited from sharing your home internet connection with neighbors or anyone outside of your residence, so creating a…
brendanib on HNthis is a very bad idea! Since the concept of "Störerhaftung" got introduced (interferer accountability), the account holder will be held liable for copyright infringement. This…
killerpopiller on HN
Unclear benefit over existing alternatives and small market
From 3 comments
Privacy I could see, although it would be very easy to set up a new account just for my wifi if I was concerned about that. But ease of use? How is setting something up on a new…
mikeash on HNThis is a good idea. The market is fairly small (people who are both tech savvy enough to understand what's going on and altruistic enough to want to participate), but that's ok.…
vishl on HNIt's a clever idea. I'm not 100% sure I'd use it because I'm not totally sure what the benefits are vs the potential downside (spam? e-mails saying LET ME USE UR NETWORK QUICKLY…
untog on HN
Requests
Add payment handling and access management for paid sharing
From 2 comments
This has potential but it needs more focus. Instead of making it so open ended (i.e. Want to grab a beer? -- which is kind of creepy), make it very specific. This is a service…
cwilson on HNIf you built a way for people to pay each other into this (like Stripe Connect, for example) this could be interesting.
goronbjorn on HN
Add a way to show speed and network details
From 1 comment
In this case, it might be useful to indicate how fast your connection speed and network is, to give people more information if they decide to buy access. What about having…
fudged71 on HN
Questions
Why would I want my WiFi to be contactable?
From 1 comment
Why would I want my WiFi to be contactable?
alexchamberlain on HN
How does it compare to FON?
From 1 comment
How does it compare to http://www.fon.com/ , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FON ?
aw3c2 on HN
Alternatives named
FON
From 2 comments
How does it compare to http://www.fon.com/ , https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FON ?
aw3c2 on HNIt's completely different. FONERA aims at creating a global network of free wifi everywhere. To participate you need to buy a FONERA router. Wifis.org is simply a way to…
nmat on HN
Putting an email address in the SSID
From 2 comments
You could just put some piece of contact info in your ESSID?
Zash on HNSeveral years ago I set my AP name to one of my email addresses with the express purpose of being able to share WiFi if someone needed brief internet access. No one has ever…
mutagen on HN
Wifichat.net
From 1 comment
Sounds like http://www.wifichat.net http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4497623
jaredsohn on HN