HaaS (Hugs as a Service) | Hacker News Reader

HaaS (Hugs as a Service)

nowcheerup.me

38 pointseddielee637 comments

If you won't do anything with the telephone numbers you collect, you might want to mention it on your page. Otherwise, well no thanks for selling or using them later for something else without explicit consent.

By the way, it seems you have an uncaught exception here when giving a number which isn't a cell phone:

  Fatal error: Uncaught exception 'Services_Twilio_RestException' with message 'To number: +33123456789, is not a mobile number' in /home/nunney/cheerup/twilio/Services/Twilio.php:213 Stack trace: #0 /home/nunney/cheerup/twilio/Services/Twilio.php(185): Services_Twilio->_processResponse(Array) #1 /home/nunney/cheerup/twilio/Services/Twilio/ListResource.php(83): Services_Twilio->createData('/2010-04-01/Acc...', Array) #2 /home/nunney/cheerup/twilio/Services/Twilio/Rest/SmsMessages.php(17): Services_Twilio_ListResource->_create(Array) #3 /home/nunney/cheerup/index.php(91): Services_Twilio_Rest_SmsMessages->create('13039005542', '+33123456789', 'You rock. I mea...') #4 {main} thrown in /home/nunney/cheerup/twilio/Services/Twilio.php on line 213

I've added in a footer comment re storing numbers - good call. Not storing numbers, mostly because I have morals.

Cheers for pointing out the uncaught exception. You deserve a hug.

I'm aware I'm going to come off sounding like the grinch, or an old man moaning "In My Day...", but:

Has it really got to the point where, if we want to cheer someone up, instead of sending them a cheering text ourselves, we outsource it to an online service?

I think it's sad because sometimes all people need is a friend with some time to listen to them. Outsourcing doesn't give that sort of warmth and closeness. It just says "I'm too busy to cheer you up so I'll get someone else to do it". No offence but I feel the same way about gift cards - if you genuinely know the person and you care about the person, you would have some idea on what to get them. I feel like relationships can be more meaningful if we put more effort into it.

Oh, totally. Nothing can replace being truly there for someone, and I'd never try.

All I wanted NowCheerUp.Me to do was make a few people smile. No friend worth their salt would outsource their compliment-giving but as a casual way of lighting up someone's face, this works!

I think you might be taking it too seriously.

This is more of a "long tail" of cheeriness :)

I assume most people would first enter their own number to see what this really does. Then they enter all their friends' numbers. Another way to collect address books.

Doesn't store data or keep numbers :-)

No HTTPS, though. :(

Last I checked your phone number wasn't sensitive information nor does it particularly matter if MITM'd or altered along the way

Same can be said of many of the websites submitted to HN where people submit their e-mail. There used to be value in keeping your e-mail address to yourself, but it seems people just toss it at whomever willy-nilly these days.

Or people have more than one email and some of them are worth less to them than others.

Spam control on email is nearly perfect, though. Spam control on my phone is much less so.

Let me guess - raising funds at a 7 billion dollar valuation?

Tomorrow on HN: IaaS (Insults as a Service).

I think you'll fine nowinsult.me redirects to nowcheerup.me ;-)

Check out http://foaas.com/

Now how did I forget about that one!

Really looking forward to SaaS 2.0 (Snark as a Service)

Reminds me of Awesomeness Reminders. I wonder how they (he's) doing?

http://www.awesomenessreminders.com/

Since a lot of you are asking - this doesn't store numbers, collect data, or track anything other than hits via Google Analytics and API hits on Twilio.

No marketing scam, no selling of address books - just a little hack to make people smile.

I really, really really, really really really hate things that collect data and use it for marketing purposes or spam. I added a disclaimer to the bottom of the page (thanks @seszett for that idea) with words to that effect too.

From twilio :

> When you use our [...] services Twilio may collect from you the following personally identifiable information: [...] and phone number. [...] Twilio may keep a cached copy of the content you serve us as a part of your use of the service for an indeterminate amount of time

although I believe your good intentions that doesn't imply I trust Twilio...

A lot of people don't realize the country code part and will start putting in the phone number (cough me), and then I get the error and go back but I have to retype the number. A little nitpicky maybe, but still a bit frustrating.

Yeah no sorry, I'm not going to post my (or a friend's) mobile phone number on the Internet, thanks. Why not use emails instead? Phone numbers on the net make me feel weird, I don't like it.

This is getting ridiculous

I completely agree.

I feel for you mate, you're worth more than that.

Hugs As A Real Person.

I mean. SaaS is pretty cool but all of these stupid services are just a waste.

Haas is also a popular variety of Avacado. #TheMoreYouKnow

I thought for sure this was a Haskell thing.

Even Haskell developers need cheering up sometimes.

Hehehe cheerful :D

Love it!!!!

does it hug premium numbers?

How bout you fucking die as a service?

Found this upthread, perhaps it's more to your liking: http://foaas.com

See, it's quite useful: http://foaas.com/off/nlintz/Cederfjard

Please don't be so rude, it's uncalled for I think.

No time for death. Too busy smiling.

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