6 ms·

yeah, I see a lot of people crying out here about the diminished freedom of speech, but did any of ya'll actually use this? It lasted for maybe a month after it

yeah, I see a lot of people crying out here about the diminished freedom of speech, but did any of ya'll actually use this? It lasted for maybe a month after its launch as the way it was intended. After that - it was used 90% by perverts

spondylosaurus 3y ago
Dating myself here, but my friends and I would go on Omegle together in middle/high school (usually at sleepovers after the host's parents had gone to bed) and I was always the one responsible for making sure whoever we connected to wasn't some guy jerking off into his webcam. I think I'd usually have to connect and disconnect two or three times before I found another human face and not a, uh, head. Although sometimes we'd have a seemingly normal conversation for a bit and then whoever we were talking to would pan the camera down and reveal that he was cranking it. Fun stuff!
whoknowsidont 3y ago
[flagged]
- buzzdenver 3y ago
  Exposing yourself without consent is a crime in most places. Omegle was full of that. Watching porn is obviously voluntary.
  - ipaddr 3y ago
    Topless laws and nude beaches disagree. Nudity is not porn.
    - 93po 3y ago
      Exposing yourself in sexually suggestive or provocative ways is not covered by nudity laws
    - klyrs 3y ago
      And yet, getting frisky (with yourself or others) on a nude beach is typically illegal. Topfreedom, in places where that is legal, is also seen quite differently than full nudity. Going to a nude beach is an opt-in experience; consent to view fully nude people is implicit in going there. Where nude beaches are uncommon, they are typically very well marked as such. And, to pick a nit, because I live in a locale where toplessness is equal-opportunity: we enjoy this freedom due to the lack of a law restricting it.
  - whoknowsidont 3y ago
    I'm sorry these statements are simply not congruent. A private website that had quite a ubiquitous reputation (factual or not, consistent or not) for sexual web-cam encounters is not "most places." And you're being disingenuous by pretending it counts as such. Going to Omegle is voluntary. Watching people's web cams is voluntary. Interacting with strangers from your own personal device on a site is voluntary. There is not a reasonable expectation of having any kind of pristine interaction on such mediums. This is in juxtaposition to private websites that effectively serve as social spaces such as Twitter, Facebook, etc because they are advertised and designed as such, they are distributed as such by major companies (Apple, etc) so it would be REASONABLE to assume you won't get some weirdo pervert on cam or some racist parading around in a KKK outfit. Omegle was never that. Not from the start. Not during its prime time. And not obviously not towards the end. I cannot believe I have to "fuzzy peaches" this topic since it's normally an absolutely bonkers claim designed to absolve people of responsibility and consequences. Ironically, in this case, the opposite is true. You are responsible for going to a private site, with a known reputation, with no guarantees about what kind of interaction you have with complete total strangers from all over the world from various different backgrounds and social climates. If you have concerns about you or your loved ones visiting that site: every single ISP on the planet will now help you setup filters over the phone or via chat. And so will vendors like Apple support. People's choices and actions are _not your concern_ when they don't actively affect you and when you have to go out of your way to have them even be remotely relevant to your day to day life. And if you chose to fumble your way into such a medium, the "X" button is one click away. But it was still your choice and so you are ultimately responsible for being there in the first place.
    - kelseyfrog 3y ago
      Going to anywhere is voluntary and we still have public indecency laws. Doing it on the internet doesn't have an essential difference. Besides, the expectation is that members will follow the rules and the Omegle Community Guidelines clearly state > Nudity, pornography and sexually explicit conduct and content are prohibited This is opposed to a strip club where there is an expectation of nudity. It's like going to a grocery store. "Well that's the grocery store where everyone jacks off," really isn't a convincing argument.
echelon 3y ago
Spaces like this deserve to exist too, and removing them from the world makes the world worse. Omegle has been a great place for content creators [1], people learning languages [2], LGBT youth escaping their religious/rural upbringings, etc. I hope you don't take this fight to VRChat [3, 4, etc]. That might just be too much freedom for people. Shame on people trying to kill these platforms. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbjpkSkJvw8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbjpkSkJvw8 (CodeMiko regularly trolls Omegle) [2] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D4bbyY_0Wng https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D4bbyY_0Wng (this is great) [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1T6X_B9CI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1T6X_B9CI (just skimming these, but it's innocent fun) [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS9IdrREB6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS9IdrREB6I
Rebelgecko 3y ago
That's not consistent with my experience at all, at least 90% of my conversations were with bots, only some of whom were programmed by perverts

spondylosaurus 3y ago

Dating myself here, but my friends and I would go on Omegle together in middle/high school (usually at sleepovers after the host's parents had gone to bed) and I was always the one responsible for making sure whoever we connected to wasn't some guy jerking off into his webcam. I think I'd usually have to connect and disconnect two or three times before I found another human face and not a, uh, head. Although sometimes we'd have a seemingly normal conversation for a bit and then whoever we were talking to would pan the camera down and reveal that he was cranking it. Fun stuff!

whoknowsidont 3y ago

[flagged]

buzzdenver 3y ago
Exposing yourself without consent is a crime in most places. Omegle was full of that. Watching porn is obviously voluntary.
- ipaddr 3y ago
  Topless laws and nude beaches disagree. Nudity is not porn.
  - 93po 3y ago
    Exposing yourself in sexually suggestive or provocative ways is not covered by nudity laws
  - klyrs 3y ago
    And yet, getting frisky (with yourself or others) on a nude beach is typically illegal. Topfreedom, in places where that is legal, is also seen quite differently than full nudity. Going to a nude beach is an opt-in experience; consent to view fully nude people is implicit in going there. Where nude beaches are uncommon, they are typically very well marked as such. And, to pick a nit, because I live in a locale where toplessness is equal-opportunity: we enjoy this freedom due to the lack of a law restricting it.
- whoknowsidont 3y ago
  I'm sorry these statements are simply not congruent. A private website that had quite a ubiquitous reputation (factual or not, consistent or not) for sexual web-cam encounters is not "most places." And you're being disingenuous by pretending it counts as such. Going to Omegle is voluntary. Watching people's web cams is voluntary. Interacting with strangers from your own personal device on a site is voluntary. There is not a reasonable expectation of having any kind of pristine interaction on such mediums. This is in juxtaposition to private websites that effectively serve as social spaces such as Twitter, Facebook, etc because they are advertised and designed as such, they are distributed as such by major companies (Apple, etc) so it would be REASONABLE to assume you won't get some weirdo pervert on cam or some racist parading around in a KKK outfit. Omegle was never that. Not from the start. Not during its prime time. And not obviously not towards the end. I cannot believe I have to "fuzzy peaches" this topic since it's normally an absolutely bonkers claim designed to absolve people of responsibility and consequences. Ironically, in this case, the opposite is true. You are responsible for going to a private site, with a known reputation, with no guarantees about what kind of interaction you have with complete total strangers from all over the world from various different backgrounds and social climates. If you have concerns about you or your loved ones visiting that site: every single ISP on the planet will now help you setup filters over the phone or via chat. And so will vendors like Apple support. People's choices and actions are _not your concern_ when they don't actively affect you and when you have to go out of your way to have them even be remotely relevant to your day to day life. And if you chose to fumble your way into such a medium, the "X" button is one click away. But it was still your choice and so you are ultimately responsible for being there in the first place.
  - kelseyfrog 3y ago
    Going to anywhere is voluntary and we still have public indecency laws. Doing it on the internet doesn't have an essential difference. Besides, the expectation is that members will follow the rules and the Omegle Community Guidelines clearly state > Nudity, pornography and sexually explicit conduct and content are prohibited This is opposed to a strip club where there is an expectation of nudity. It's like going to a grocery store. "Well that's the grocery store where everyone jacks off," really isn't a convincing argument.

echelon 3y ago

Spaces like this deserve to exist too, and removing them from the world makes the world worse. Omegle has been a great place for content creators [1], people learning languages [2], LGBT youth escaping their religious/rural upbringings, etc. I hope you don't take this fight to VRChat [3, 4, etc]. That might just be too much freedom for people. Shame on people trying to kill these platforms. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbjpkSkJvw8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbjpkSkJvw8 (CodeMiko regularly trolls Omegle) [2] https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D4bbyY_0Wng https://www.youtube.com/shorts/D4bbyY_0Wng (this is great) [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1T6X_B9CI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T1T6X_B9CI (just skimming these, but it's innocent fun) [4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS9IdrREB6I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PS9IdrREB6I

Rebelgecko 3y ago

That's not consistent with my experience at all, at least 90% of my conversations were with bots, only some of whom were programmed by perverts