5 ms·

Thanks for working on this. It reminds me of a social app called Slowly (https://slowly.app/en/ https://slowly.app/en/) where you write "letters" to people and

Thanks for working on this. It reminds me of a social app called Slowly (https://slowly.app/en/ https://slowly.app/en/) where you write "letters" to people and they are delivered based on the approximate physical distance between them. It's common for letters across countries to take >12 or sometimes even >24 hours. It's led people to a lot of meaningful relationships/friendships, they publish some as stories: https://slowly.app/en/story/featured/ https://slowly.app/en/story/featured/

ronaldj 5y ago
I discovered Slowly just over a month ago. Really surprised about the lack of spam and the interactions I've had.
dmitryminkovsky 5y ago
I hadn't seen Slowly. That's awesome—thanks for sharing. I really like how it's tied to physical distance. I really want to add more delivery modes, with geographical distance being one possible factor. For me a big deal is not just the slow delivery, but the inability to instantly send as well. The presence of a send button has this effect of making me send things that aren't ready. I don't intend Pony to encourage people to edit and edit and edit forever, but I've found in my personal usage that sometimes I write a message, put it in my outbox, and then some number of hours later I'll think of something randomly and edit it a bit. Or I'll change my mind and delete it.
- ISL 5y ago
  The ability to edit really is a wonderful feature. I find that I perpetually tweak forum/social media/Slack posts a minute or two after posting, just to improve clarity. The idea of email (even if it carries with it some versioning history) that is editable is really nice. Is there a way to interface Pony with email directly, so that an app isn't required? I can imagine giving ISL@ponymail.com out to people with the clear expectation that my SLA for a reply is 24-48 hours instead of instantaneous and that my SLA for their correspondence is also similar.
  - weird-eye-issue 5y ago
    It drives me crazy when people post in Slack and then often edit their message after sending. Just edit and then send. Otherwise people will have to basically ignore your first message and try to remember to check back in a couple minutes when you are done editing...
    - myself248 5y ago
      I wonder if you could write some sort of filter that would let you, as a reader, not see messages right when they arrive. Maybe let them "fade in", and only show up as unread when they've solidified a little while.
      - weird-eye-issue 5y ago
        That's what the typing indicator is for. Just type, edit, then send
  - finnh 5y ago
    I am constitutionally unable to proofread before sending, and conversely unable to _not_ proofread after sending. It's bizarre. I wish GMail's "delay send" feature had a much longer maximum time...
    - dmitryminkovsky 5y ago
      Wow. That is exactly my experience but I've never been able to articulate it that way. "Constitutionally unable." Thank you.
    - idiotsecant 5y ago
      I also identify with this 100%. It's probably a personality flaw of some sort.
      - andai 5y ago
        I think some buffer in the brain gets cleared when you send the message, and you see it with fresh eyes.
- jarnagin 5y ago
  One of the remarkable things (in the context of this age) about reading history is that you see just how many people used to write letters in heated moments and then choose not to send them once they'd cooled down. The histories of presidents are littered with such moments, and I often juxtapose that fact with social media. How often has the ability to send something instantly allowed each of us to expose our worst self to people?
jedimastert 5y ago
I remember this a few years ago...I should get back into it.
- tut-urut-utut 5y ago
  No, you won't go back into it! If you remember it, and used it a few years ago, but then forgot about it until some random HN post mentioned it, it's not something with persistent utility (addiction) to you. EDIT: I see I got understood in a way I didn't intend to. Didn't want to say anything about parent, just pointing out that mentioned platform itself lack addictiveness to be considered a good (successful) social network. Or is this one of the "feel good, we all should be using it" kind of stuff, where people force themselves to use it, because it's "right thing to do", but it feels more like a chore than joy, something like gym.
  - jedimastert 5y ago
    I'm in a very different place than I was a few years ago.
    - e40 5y ago
      I know this is the innernets, but I always get a kick out of responses like the GP's. Wow.
      - mistermann 5y ago
        The human mind's ability to see into the future based on sparse data is a fascinating phenomenon, and fairly ubiquitous.
        LocalH 5y ago
        The human mind's ability to incorrectly apply that foresight to others is equally ubiquitous, however.
animal_spirits 5y ago
While an interesting concept, I think it would be much more meaningful to actually write the letter. Make something physical of yourself and send to someone you care about. It's really fun. I love snail mail
- hybridtupel 5y ago
  If post cards are also your thing you could also like Postcrossing [0]! There you will sent a post card to a stranger most likely in another country and in turn you will receive one from another person. I like the idea of combining online matching and offline letter sending. [0] https://www.postcrossing.com/ https://www.postcrossing.com/
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- dmitryminkovsky 5y ago
  I definitely agree in many ways, but a core goal in creating this app was to meet people (including myself) where they are, which today is on our phones and computers.
  - matheist 5y ago
    Maybe delivery could be optionally executed through the mail! i.e. the writing experience happens through the app but then the recipient gets a paper letter. No idea if people would go for that or if it'd be worth the extra complexity.
nikolay 5y ago
Slowly is totally different and I won't use it. Not sure why it has usernames, when there are no public profiles. I won't use Slowly as I can't have my username of choice. But I will use Pony.

ronaldj 5y ago

I discovered Slowly just over a month ago. Really surprised about the lack of spam and the interactions I've had.

dmitryminkovsky 5y ago

I hadn't seen Slowly. That's awesome—thanks for sharing. I really like how it's tied to physical distance. I really want to add more delivery modes, with geographical distance being one possible factor. For me a big deal is not just the slow delivery, but the inability to instantly send as well. The presence of a send button has this effect of making me send things that aren't ready. I don't intend Pony to encourage people to edit and edit and edit forever, but I've found in my personal usage that sometimes I write a message, put it in my outbox, and then some number of hours later I'll think of something randomly and edit it a bit. Or I'll change my mind and delete it.

ISL 5y ago
The ability to edit really is a wonderful feature. I find that I perpetually tweak forum/social media/Slack posts a minute or two after posting, just to improve clarity. The idea of email (even if it carries with it some versioning history) that is editable is really nice. Is there a way to interface Pony with email directly, so that an app isn't required? I can imagine giving ISL@ponymail.com out to people with the clear expectation that my SLA for a reply is 24-48 hours instead of instantaneous and that my SLA for their correspondence is also similar.
- weird-eye-issue 5y ago
  It drives me crazy when people post in Slack and then often edit their message after sending. Just edit and then send. Otherwise people will have to basically ignore your first message and try to remember to check back in a couple minutes when you are done editing...
  - myself248 5y ago
    I wonder if you could write some sort of filter that would let you, as a reader, not see messages right when they arrive. Maybe let them "fade in", and only show up as unread when they've solidified a little while.
    - weird-eye-issue 5y ago
      That's what the typing indicator is for. Just type, edit, then send
- finnh 5y ago
  I am constitutionally unable to proofread before sending, and conversely unable to _not_ proofread after sending. It's bizarre. I wish GMail's "delay send" feature had a much longer maximum time...
  - dmitryminkovsky 5y ago
    Wow. That is exactly my experience but I've never been able to articulate it that way. "Constitutionally unable." Thank you.
  - idiotsecant 5y ago
    I also identify with this 100%. It's probably a personality flaw of some sort.
    - andai 5y ago
      I think some buffer in the brain gets cleared when you send the message, and you see it with fresh eyes.
jarnagin 5y ago
One of the remarkable things (in the context of this age) about reading history is that you see just how many people used to write letters in heated moments and then choose not to send them once they'd cooled down. The histories of presidents are littered with such moments, and I often juxtapose that fact with social media. How often has the ability to send something instantly allowed each of us to expose our worst self to people?

jedimastert 5y ago

I remember this a few years ago...I should get back into it.

tut-urut-utut 5y ago
No, you won't go back into it! If you remember it, and used it a few years ago, but then forgot about it until some random HN post mentioned it, it's not something with persistent utility (addiction) to you. EDIT: I see I got understood in a way I didn't intend to. Didn't want to say anything about parent, just pointing out that mentioned platform itself lack addictiveness to be considered a good (successful) social network. Or is this one of the "feel good, we all should be using it" kind of stuff, where people force themselves to use it, because it's "right thing to do", but it feels more like a chore than joy, something like gym.
- jedimastert 5y ago
  I'm in a very different place than I was a few years ago.
  - e40 5y ago
    I know this is the innernets, but I always get a kick out of responses like the GP's. Wow.
    - mistermann 5y ago
      The human mind's ability to see into the future based on sparse data is a fascinating phenomenon, and fairly ubiquitous.
      - LocalH 5y ago
        The human mind's ability to incorrectly apply that foresight to others is equally ubiquitous, however.

animal_spirits 5y ago

While an interesting concept, I think it would be much more meaningful to actually write the letter. Make something physical of yourself and send to someone you care about. It's really fun. I love snail mail

hybridtupel 5y ago
If post cards are also your thing you could also like Postcrossing [0]! There you will sent a post card to a stranger most likely in another country and in turn you will receive one from another person. I like the idea of combining online matching and offline letter sending. [0] https://www.postcrossing.com/ https://www.postcrossing.com/
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
dmitryminkovsky 5y ago
I definitely agree in many ways, but a core goal in creating this app was to meet people (including myself) where they are, which today is on our phones and computers.
- matheist 5y ago
  Maybe delivery could be optionally executed through the mail! i.e. the writing experience happens through the app but then the recipient gets a paper letter. No idea if people would go for that or if it'd be worth the extra complexity.

nikolay 5y ago

Slowly is totally different and I won't use it. Not sure why it has usernames, when there are no public profiles. I won't use Slowly as I can't have my username of choice. But I will use Pony.