Show HN: Live location-based messaging board
play.google.com
play.google.com
It could be used to get help with travel plans, give shout outs, or share funny/embarrassing things going on in your community.
In a way, it acts like a real life version of a public chat in an MMORPG.
Would appreciate any feedback!
Rolling up your sleeves for some location-based, real-time coding would have been a bit of fun right?
Giants like Twitter have obviously had location-based tweets for a long time but a sizable segment of those users will always be reluctant to share their location against what can be a very public, linked account.
An app like this that allows anonymous users to jump into location-chats anywhere could be really useful.
Obviously geographic channels on IRC have existed for aeons and do the same thing, but putting it in a modern app for a new generation makes sense.
There are undoubtedly loads of other existing services and apps doing this kind of thing, but who cares if this is all a personal R&D mission right? You never know where it might lead.
Keep at it!
I've made a few iterations of this idea, but I am most proud of this one... at least I am improving.
I see this app being similar to Yik Yak, the more popular app (that I know of) in this niche. I decided I wanted to do what I can to improve on this.
Being anonymous/not requiring to sign up to use this app was one major component, which is done... but I wanted other users to be able to get to new locations and be able to contribute there (if you're familiar with Yik Yak, it's read-only at other locations other than your own).
There are a lot of apps allowing location based apps, but I wasn't aware of any that made it... visual on a map like this app. IRC and other apps like this are mostly just the "message list" part and not see "more detail/context" on a map.
It was a fun project to work on nonetheless :)
The concept seems pretty cool. I like it. It has the potential to do a lot of useful and fun things.
I really hope the dark side doesn't rear up too quickly. If not watched carefully, it could become a cesspool of hate, crime, defacement, intimidation...
Yes, that is a good point... perhaps I should add a "report" feature to each post. What do you think? :)
I have narrowed it down to being triggered by the go to gps coordinate icon. It happens on the only device I have tried it with thus far.
I sent a few messages and got a 'lol,' so the basic functionality of that works.
I also noticed that user locations appear to be intentionally generalized to the nearest town/neighborhood center. That's probably good thinking for now, though I relize it may be unintentional on your part.
When I tried to link a photo to my account, the gallery image I selected was not used. Instead, a photo that is not even in the category/folder I selected was used. No matter what image I select in any category/folder, it always uses that same pic.
Sadly, it looks awful on my 10" tablet.
Clearly, this is a 0.1 version.
Overall... even considering the few negatives, it's a really nice concept that should continue to be developed and polshed. You should be proud.
I will implement a fix for that tomorrow.
The user location should be exact, but there is a limitation due to the "macro level view" -- I think.
You make a very excellent point... my first version/draft was meant for phones. I didn't add any special logic/format any views for tablets. That would take a little bit longer to implement. I don't have a tablet, and honestly didn't think of it. Thank you for pointing it out :)
The photo problem is pretty interesting... as I've been able to change/use multiple different photos and got what I wanted. It could be a tablet thing...
Your feedback is very useful, a lot of what I hoped to get from posting here. Thank you very much.
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I think that would be a good idea. However, my idea of a "report" feature and your idea of a "report" feature may be quite different. My thought is that this added "report" functionality would be a rather involved classification and targetting subsystem. I would not even use the word "report" to identify this functionality. What I am thinking of would add several interesting benefits. But, it's complicated.
Give some thought to this. You can do some interesting stuff.