9 ms·
Ask HN: Who Wants a Penpal?
Surely I'm not the only lonely computer nerd here :)
If you're interesting in finding a penpal, post in this thread with the following format:
alias:
interests:
language(s):
link to something you think is cool:
contact info:
To prevent spambots from scraping this like they do the hiring threads, please obscure your contact info.
- sdsd 2y agoI'll start :3 alias: darigo interests: odd operating systems like templeos and Genera, far right politics, far left politics, far center politics, latin america, fencing (HEMA and olympic), self improvement language(s): english, spanish link to something you think is cool: webrings like https://webring.xxiivv.com/#131 contact info: ~motluc-nammex (iykyk) or run this Racket code: (string-append (list->string (map (λ (c) (integer->char (- (char->integer c) 1000))) (string->list "ќѐэЖђэћѝћЖщўёєэћ"))) "@gmail.com")
- glitchcrab 2y agoDumb question; what are far centre politics? Surely by definition centrist politics can't be far - far just puts them as left or right.
- jll29 2y agoTo ensure any piece of text is "far center" (= unbiased), check out https://biasscanner.org https://biasscanner.org - if text you paste in does not change after pressing the green button, it's unbiased, otherwise biased sentenced are highlighted in yellow, and hovering over them gives you an explanation, about which of 27 bias types was discovered.
- Booktrope 2y agoI think of far-centerist as extremely unideological. To me, ideologies are systematically organized collections of ideas, often hierarchically, with core ideas (or assumptions) given a paramount or supreme position. They almost all provide a certain level of insight and huge errors, because no system of ideas describes the world in a complete or fully accurate way. So, a far-centrist in my view is open to using ideas from whatever ideology, or some that associate with no ideology, for what they're worth. If by far center, you mean unbiased, well, we're all biased to some degree. Actually it's very hard not to be quite biased in some way, whether ideologically or stylistically, or any of the more gross forms of bias most of us have to wrestle with, being human. A bias scanner can be useful in identifying bias, but you can be ideological and non-biased, in which case, you're just using the bias scanner to reduce your bias. That's a good thing to do, but I'd call it, a kind of self-moderation, which might attenuate partisanship but for sure isn't necessarily centrist at all.
- sdsd 2y agoThat's not a dumb question! If anything, my wording was dumb :) The more usual term is "radical centrism" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radical_centrism). I would say someone like Richard Hanana or rationalists like Scott Alexander have a centrism that is much more radical than someone who merely doesn't have strong political opinions. For a more parodial take on radical centrism, jreg's youtube channel talks about it a lot. He's an anticentrist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58IOy41snKU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58IOy41snKU
- glitchcrab 2y agoThis makes much more sense now; thank you!
- animuchan 2y agoI actually love this definition! A "centrist" when talking about a layperson might suggest them having an amorphous, indifferent position. In our here local politics, a "centrist" politician is strongly assumed to be a political prostitute, a puppet in search of a generous master. I take a "far centrist" to mean compromise-seeking in a deliberate way, which is a fun concept to consider.
- wenc 2y agoMy circles, centrist politics just mean "complex" case-by-case politics. By this definition, most reasonable people are centrist. We are forced to pick a team to get the numbers but our positions can and do differ from the party line.
- lagniappe 2y agoThat looks like an urbit name, right? I've been wanting to try it out and have access to a small amount of currency. What do you suggest?
- sdsd 2y agoYep! It's actually free to get a ship: https://redhorizon.com/ https://redhorizon.com/ Feel free to email me using the email address from my post and I can show you some good apps, introduce you to people, etc. It's fun.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- Bouncingsoul1 2y agoalias:BouncingSoul interests: OpenWater/longDistance Swimming,PunkRock, History language: English, German link: https://inforo1300.wordpress.com/ https://inforo1300.wordpress.com/ contact info:vljlqhxpdqq@wxwd.lr (ceasar +3)
- givemeethekeys 2y agoMan, I miss this aspect about ICQ (and the internet from the late 90's). Everyone I met online was awesome and from some far away cool place. And if they were anywhere near you - like, let's say, half a day's worth of driving near you - then they were totally down to meet in person!
- legohead 2y agomet my wife from another country on a free penpal website some 25 years ago. wasn't a dating site, just sign up with your email, write a short introduction, and wait for someone to write you.
- JoyfulTurkey 2y agoRIP ICQ. I met met quite a few long distance chat friends on there. Never met anyone in person from there, though. In my area, we had the Cleveland Freenet with an IRC server. Met a lot of friends in real life from there—I believe they also had periodic picnic meetups but I never went to one of those. Briefly dated someone in HS after we met in an IRC channel, and one of my real life friends met his future wife on a freenet in neighboring state that we could access. I also had a personal site that a random girl my age a few states over found. She emailed me and we started corresponding for years over email, AOL/AIM and hand written letters. We still do on occasion. We met in person about 13 years after we first emailed.
- spacecadet 2y agoIn the late 90s my brother and I drove our Volvos 3 states away(yes separately, with handheld radios and a gazetteer) to a Volvo only meetup and track day that we found online, really just to put faces to usernames. It was awesome. #turbobricks
- givemeethekeys 2y agoI don't understand why this is being downvoted, but I had a similar experience meeting some people from an online community that I'd been a part of - drove 300 clicks to meet them and they looked nothing like I'd imagined them to be! It was a very cool time - we just called each other by our handles because that felt more natural than using the real names. My handle was more embarrassing out loud than it was on the internet :).
- nittanymount 2y agointeresting, penpal is a stranger you are familiar with, it is different to how folks talk here. while, it is one type of communication channel, has pros and cons...
- manuelmoreale 2y agoCouple of things: 1. I wrote countless of times on my site that I love emailing with people so if you want to engage in conversation my email is public and it’s also in my profile here 2. I’m also more than happy to send actual mail. Like handwritten on paper. If you like that send me an email and I’ll give you an address. 3. If you like the concept of having penpals this app is worth checking out https://slowly.app/ https://slowly.app/
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- haunter 2y agoSlowly looks interesting, thanks! Edit: crashes on my phone, can't sign up :(
- manuelmoreale 2y agoAh bummer. They do have a web version though if I’m not mistaken.
- as1mov 2y agoI wonder if mods would be interested in hosting a official IRC channel for the site. Though now that I look back on my own memories of IRC, the amount of drama is probably not worth the hassle for the them hah. Perhaps an unofficial channel would still be nice.
- oooyay 2y agoThere's one on Libera, but it's more of a feed
- ballerburg9006 2y ago[flagged]
- codetrotter 2y agoalias: codetrotter interests: FreeBSD, ZFS, computer graphics, Bitcoin language(s): Rust, English link to something you think is cool: https://youtu.be/JEn3kpysimY contact info: https://bsky.app/profile/erikn.bsky.social
- hyperfuturism 2y agogood idea, here's mine: alias: abyss interests: crypto, anime, philosophy, indie game dev, japanese indie bands, vtubers, ai, physics, programming, prediction markets, league. language(s): english, link to something you think is cool: https://jsomers.net/i-should-have-loved-biology/ contact info: @abysstrades on telegram or abysstrades@proton.me
- breck 2y agoalias: breck interests: family, friends, science, nature, freedom, programming languages language(s): scroll link to something you think is cool: https://pldb.io/lists/creators.html contact info: https://warpcast.com/breck
- zevra 2y agoalias: zevra interests: analyzing and watching people, computer networking, technical theatre, an academic interest in fraud and deception, spiritual beliefs and societal conventions and rules specifically how they effect individuals and populations, lots of other things I can't remember right now. language(s): english link to something you think is cool: https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comic/deviance-in-the-dark https://www.stuartmcmillen.com/comic/deviance-in-the-dark contact info: zevra-contact-5@darken.space
- polterguy1000 2y ago[flagged]
- __rito__ 2y agoalias: rito interests: Programming Languages, Mathematics, poetry, art (paintings mainly), books (interesting non fiction like Simon Singh, novels by authors like Marquez, Greg Egan, Neal Stephenson), Philosophy, mysticism, anything that tickles my brains, really languages: English, Bengali link to something I think is cool: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factorio contact info: mail on profile, @<last word of scientific name of humans>_rg_telegraph on Telegram (remove <>)
- dbg31415 2y agoI think this would work better as a Discord server.
- eliseabock 2y agohell yeah I love community alias: jah interests: essentially every branch of philosophy, hacking/infosec, startups, cooking unusual meals, literature, math, theories of intelligence, sharing life stories, listening to smart people talk language(s): English and a little bit of French (still learning) link: http://www.hutter1.net/ait.htm http://www.hutter1.net/ait.htm (I like AIT a lot) info: вцудды0ч@gmail.com (English but typed with Russian keyboard)
- tintedfireglass 2y agoThat's a real good way to filter out not only spam but also low effort mail. Kudos that's so very innovative and intriguing tbh
- __rito__ 2y agoWhat is the last character? 'c' or 'ch'?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- odomojuli 2y agoalias: J. interests: mathematics, cooking/recipes, culture/arts languages: Please write to me in any language from anywhere!! And please send math papers!! I'm trying to learn as many languages as I can right now. My current focus is French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, German – then Chinese, Russian, Hindi, Korean, Arabic, and Haitian Creole. I'm going to focus op top-30 most spoken-by-people, then top 30 most spoken-by-countries, then a survey of languages without any incentive (Navajo, Irish, Greek, Hawaiian, Latin, Sanskrit, in general, Classical Languages, Medieval Languages, Modern Languages). I started this journey in August 2023 knowing only N1 Japanese. link to something you think is cool: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3027072 https://www.jstor.org/stable/3027072 I would so love to do whole Erdős wanderer thing and focus on publishing papers in different countries with different people in different languages. I like the whole peripatetic element of thinking and living and working and dreaming. link to something that does not exist: I am building a 'tiny' LLM that is taking a novel approach to language translation. It is incredibly nice to continue this research because I have begun to actually understand more people now and I feel less lonely. It is getting better, but I am absolutely not in any hurry to capitalize on it. I can send you samples of its output by hand in parallel to my own manual translation. Contact: Write me an email, and we can exchange mailing addresses! > info[U+0040]odomojuli[U+002E]com Note: I really love postcards, postage, lettering and hand-made art prints. If you have any appreciation for these things, please let me know – it can take a bit of effort.
- TbobbyZ 2y agoHow's it going learning many languages at once? Are you conversational with all of them?
- odomojuli 2y agoAbsolutely not! I think if I focused on maybe, one language I could see adopting basic proficiency and fluency by the US State Dept's rubric in like... 44-ish weeks, some languages 66+. What is helping is that this is training my ear and tongue, it's becoming more comfortable to transition between grammars and pronunciations.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- kxrm 2y agoalias: kxrm interests: audio engineering, video, radio, all streaming technologies, encryption, music, vintage computing language(s): English link to something you think is cool: https://string.spiel.com/ contact info: https://news.ycombinator.com/user?id=kxrm
- LonelyTree 2y agoalias: Alex interests: philosophy, startups, photography (film and digital), aerospace, astronomical phenomenon, motorcycles, outdoor adventures, Landcruisers, flying aircraft language: English (translators exist so don't hesitate to reach out!!) link to something you think is cool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6d1RKYapFI&ab_channel=CNCKitchen contact info: mail in profile
- grep_name 2y ago> contact info: mail in profile I don't think it is actually. Lot of shared interests here though
- gabrielsroka 2y agoEmail is for the mods only. you'd have to add it to About.
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- axis093 2y agointerests: privacy, security, computers, rpg/ttrpg, tabletop games, programming, electronics, music festivals language(s): English, Polish, Un poco Español link to something you think is cool: disroot.org contact info: penpal.axis093@aleeas.com (will be removed after some time or if I get too much spam)
- GauntletWizard 2y agoI'm a lonely computer nerd, and yet despite having made a lot of friends on the internet in my youth, I'm no longer willing to do so. The internet has gotten too weird and polarized, and quite frankly I don't like the people who share my interests. Most nerds are living in fantasy worlds, not just part-time. The problem is one of degrees - Anyone you notice on a big site is likely posting very often - "Terminally online" is the word. The more niche you go, they are alternatively deeper into their own fantasy worlds. I haven't figured out how to arrange coincidence; Repeated coincidental meetings have long been studied to be the basis of friendship, and intentionally going to "meetups" where the attendance is common but not fixed is the best way to foster that. Online matchmaking has been the biggest problem here - You are guaranteed a game, but you'll never run into the same people twice. Once upon a time you had localish communities form around servers that were low-ping to them, which really worked well - You were likely to run into the same people, and they were likely to be nearby but not so close that you'd have run into them anyway.
- lye 2y agoUnless you're living in the middle of nowhere and the only people you're close to are the ones you have nothing in common with. Besides superficial characteristics like ethnicity and language. These threads are a blessing for some of us.
- fuero 2y agoalias: fuero interests: board games, computer games, languages languages: english, german link to something you think is cool: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/QI https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/QI contact info: fuero.56
- alericbdent 2y agoHi, wow, are you me? Would love to chat. Sadly I can't find any contact info or am too stupid to see it. :-/ If you like, find me on telegram, user name as above.
- lye 2y agoI'm pretty sure it's a Signal ID.
- low_tech_punk 2y agoIt's just damn cool to see how many ways there are to obfuscate email addresses
- TekMol 2y agoHow does everyone here feel about IRC? The #startups channel is a great place to meet indie makers who build stuff and are interested in technology.
- chaoskanzlerin 2y agoReading these short self-descriptions makes me weirdly disappointed in my own life. You know, undergrad while living with parents while being a repressing queer while having crippling ADHD.
- postrock 2y agoYou do you. Don't worry about these things. Just work on yourself one day at a time. Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get -- https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/life_is_like_a_box_of_chocolates https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/life_is_like_a_box_of_chocola...
- foretop_yardarm 2y agoYou have lots of time.
- leononame 2y agoalias: leononame Interests: politics, literature, music, film and to some degree art (would love to be in touch with someone who's interested in painting and can make me understand it better) and programming I love cooking as well and I guess I can be interested for anything related to technology. Languages: German, English, Spanish. Anything else via Google translate Something that's cool: I recently watched the movie "Drive My Car", very strong recommendations to watch. Contact info: me[squiggly a]lho[dot]io
- postrock 2y agoalias: V interests: gardening (no dig, organic, regenerative), music (post rock, rock, metal, rap/hip hop, some electronic/pop), programming/software, politics (I just like observing from a distance), economics, astrophysics/space (not deeply into science anymore, but sometimes I like to think about things) language(s): English link to something you think is cool: clickable link below contact info: postrock <A T> fastmail <D 0 T> com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_far_future
- glth 2y agoalias: G. interests: computers, programming languages, programmatic puzzles, bacteriophages language(s): en, fr link to something you think is cool: https://google-research.github.io/self-organising-systems/2022/diff-fsm/ contact info: moeie.gyj/btfgxnc (Vigenère cipher, the key is this website's name)
- spudlyo 2y agoalias: spud interests: books (Austen atm), emacs, songwriting, cooking, guitar, politics, writing, databases, weight loss, health language(s): English link to something you think is cool: https://songfight.org contact info: In my HN bio!
- xandrius 2y agoAlias: X Interests: creative (video/board) game design/dev (e.g. tiny games exploring philosophical and societal topics), food (including pizza/breadmaking, cheesemaking and fermentation), travelling, nature, camping, hiking, hacking, unique and creative anime/manga/books, whittling, gardening (no dig, regenerative), Ted Chiang, Victorian travelogues and relaxation. Language(s): English Link to something you think is cool: - https://neal.fun/ https://neal.fun/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tatami_Galaxy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tatami_Galaxy - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malay_Archipelago https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malay_Archipelago Contact info: hn-penpal.dingy454@simplelogin.com
- whatindaheck 2y agoalias: whatindaheck interests: outdoors, cycling, movies, armchair politics, fabrics language(s): en link to something you think is cool: yamatomichi.com - awesome hiking gear contact info: blot.detector318@mailer.me (will disable once spam starts flooding in)
- hxii 2y agoalias: hxii interests: programming, productivity, adhd, stoicism, video and computer games, organization, music, travel, technology, the small web and pretty much anything else. languages: English, Python, Russian, Ukrainian, Hebrew, maybe Lua cool stuff: https://unethical.info/2024/01/24/hacking-my-air-purifier/ https://unethical.info/2024/01/24/hacking-my-air-purifier/ contact: ten.kahsulg@luap reversed or @MrPaul on Telegram
- clestro 2y agoalias: clestro interests: Classic rock, psychology, cybersecurity, privacy, hacking, startups, Linux, FOSS, onebag, skateboarding, playing guitar/bass, bouldering, vinyl records, muscle cars, magic tricks, improv, standup comedy, nyc/bay area. language(s): English link to something you think is cool: https://kill-the-newsletter.com/ https://kill-the-newsletter.com/ contact info: clestro12@outlook.com (will disable once spam starts to come in)
- codingclaws 2y agoalias: codingclaws interests: piano, React, SwiftUI languages: English, European Portuguese, JavaScript, Swift contact info: site and email in profile
- artisanspam 2y agoThank you for making this post. I always love chatting with people. Alias: artisanspam Interests: Philosophy pertaining to both political theory and how to live “the good life,” cycling, violin, piano, jazz, PC gaming, design of the built environment (city design, interior design, landscaping) and how it shapes you, meditation, Buddhism (from a secular perspective) Language(s): English Link to something you think is cool: Pertaining to built-environment design, I find this YouTube channel interesting: https://youtube.com/@nevertoosmall https://youtube.com/@nevertoosmall Contact info: in bio.
- willmeyers 2y agoalias: will interests: programming, websites, games, painting and drawing, movies, long walks, making things with people, niche communities, design. language(s): english link to something you think is cool: https://thehtml.review/ https://thehtml.review/ People are so dang creative. contact info: in bio
- -alternis 2y agoalias: alternis interests: Mathematics, First-Order Logic, Computability, Computer Science, Systems Programming, Finite Element Modelling/Analysis, Languages: English, French (But my french is only ok) Link to something you find interesting: https://ersei.net/en/blog/fuse-root https://ersei.net/en/blog/fuse-root Contact Info: alternis(DOT)0x{11111111 in hex}@gmail.com
- akudha 2y agoThose interested in postcards, check out this site - https://www.postcrossing.com/ https://www.postcrossing.com/ This has been around for many years. Though it is mostly for sending postcards, you can still make penpal friends through the site. I have sent handwritten letters to people from the site. I am not that active anymore, but still keep in touch with a couple of people I met on the site. Highly recommended
- aogposton 2y agoalias: aogposton interests: North Korea people, Authoritarian governments, productivity, catholicism, poetry, art, music, robotics, politics, exercise languages: English (native), Korean (advanced), c, c++, javascript/typscript, php, python link: https://apply.opentech.fund https://apply.opentech.fund contact info: https://x.com/aogposton https://x.com/aogposton
- Tweezers7359 2y agoalias: Kurapka interests: running, books, travel, dystopian movies language(s): EN link to something you think is cool: https://youtu.be/Wlb1bdU-G7o?si=MfHeIcpEQBn4VwKI contact info: https://signal.me/#eu/4l2c7Kdjc7iNeHmqry8STWL7uLMTjlxRPudorJHzA5ItLQrU-e9GMoynsQd8m12Z
- eslaught 2y agoalias: Elliott interests: science fiction, mental health, programming (of course), writing, and an eclectic assortment of other topics; happy to talk about just about anything language(s): English link to something you think is cool: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/1311_05-08_mickens.pdf contact info: run the program at https://elliottslaughter.com/about/ or see my profile for Keybase (can be used to bootstrap Signal if you want)
- dkdkdkdkdkdkd 2y agoalias: T. interests: I love to talk about hacking/computer security/embedded security and related topics, literature, spending time in nature, hiking, botany, vegetarian cooking, weight loss, remote sensing technologies, archeology, history, philosophy, finance/investing/company valuation (no crypto), electronic music (production), hobby electronics, art, language learning, anything you are weirdly passionate about, ... language(s): en link to something you think is cool: there are so many things ! but a somewhat representative selection of current open tabs - https://factumfoundation.org/our-projects/3d-sculpting/re-creating-the-colossus-of-constantine/ - https://codeanlabs.com/blog/research/cve-2024-29510-ghostscript-format-string-exploitation/ - https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07612-9 - https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/Inv3ed.htm - etc. contact info: 049abfc8018fa03@protonmail.com
- xigoi 2y agoalias: xigoi interests: mathematics, programming, programming languages, numeration systems, minimalism, code golf, constructed languages, board games, puzzles, Minecraft, Minetest, public transport, egalitarianism language(s): English, Czech link to something you think is cool: https://ao.owo.si/exchange/codegolf/questions/57257/radiation-hardened-quine contact info: e-mail at disroot.org with the same username as here