+
+ SillyPost.net
+2025-05-05
+written by Niko Viau-Chow-Stuart (Founder)
+ +
+
+ + good day vorers! +
++ so after around a week or two of being trapped at home due to my car breaking down, + being super burnt out on everything, and also just generally being really out of it and tired due to + some unknown sickness going around, i was struggling quite a bit to get lifeblood and asklyphe stuff out on + time. +
++ i'm not sure if it was just demotivation, burnout, or probably a large combination of the two mixed in with + my exhaustion, but i needed a break and to just work on something simple for a bit. +
++ i had recently rewatched The Social Network (2010) and somehow i had this completely unrelated thought of + "huh, i wonder how hard it'd be to make a social network" +
++ i've wanted to do something like this for years, way before the company started, but one thing that stopped + me usually, was that i wasn't sure what i could do that wasn't already achieved way better elsewhere. +
++ i probably wouldn't have done it this time either, unless i had already been thinking of something else; +
++ if you've been on any social media site lately, such as bluesky, some part of the fediverse, or are unlucky + enough to still be on twitter; hell, even if not on social media at all, you've probably noticed that a lot of the world seems + quite depressing lately. +
++ this definitely isn't caused 100% by social media, in fact i think that social media is just a very small + part of why things are kinda depressing; however, in my opinion, the main way that every major social media + site functions, whether intentional or not, has the side effect of either consciously or unconsciously + making its users end up eventually feeling either sad or angry while using it. +
++ this was (and definitely still is) a huge problem on twitter, is still a problem on bluesky, and is also + a problem on the fediverse. unless you curate your feed really well, you're going to end up seeing a ton of + posts that just make you angry or upset. this isn't necessarily a bad thing, i think it's still important + to keep up-to-date with news and know whats going on in the world; but i think that we also deserve a place + where we can just have some pure whimsy without needing to think about that, at least for a little bit +
++ this is when i realized, the issue isn't any of these sites themself; it's that the core concept of how + most microblogging sites work causes this to happen. +
++ so i figured i could make something that doesn't have these same issues. +
++ sillypost (available at sillypost.net) is still technically a + microblogging site, however it has a lot of key features that are designed + to incentivize its users to +
+-
+
- not get into fights +
- not engagement bait +
- not get angry at someone they don't even know +
- keep a relatively happy and carefree environment +
+ with these goals in mind, here are some of the key features of sillypost: +
+-
+
- you can only see the last 10 posts someone has made +
- you can only see posts of people you're friends with +
- you have to request to be friends with someone +
- posts can have a maximum of 64 characters +
- you cannot reply to posts, or do what twitter would call "retweeting" or "quote retweeting" +
- all user-user actions are private, you can send a dm to someone, but no one knows who you're friends + with or who interacted with a post + +
+ now you might think initially that this is an incredibly limiting social network, and i would agree with + you. + it's intentionally limiting because the goal of this isn't to replace something like bluesky or the + fediverse, + but to provide a place where you can just post whatever short little joke or idea comes into your head, + and have it seen be your friends and no one else! +
++ and that's what i think makes sillypost completely different from any other social network. +
++ sillypost is still in beta, you can only join if someone invites you and i'm planning on keeping it that + way. + i'm very happy with how the launch has gone, and am excited to see where it goes from here! +
++ there's also plenty of stuff planned to keep the site fun and enjoyable, we already have a system for + playing small little browser games on the site and are planning on adding more soon! +
++ i also occasionally give out some invite codes on my bluesky account, so keep watch there if you want in! +
+ +everything else
++ as with every other project i've started, this isn't replacing anything else i'm working on. +
++ i'm still working on everything else, although updates might take a bit as i've still been having a bit of + a rough time with sickness +
+ ++ i think that this is a really fun side project though, and am very happy so far! (: +
+ ++ best wishes, and happy voring! +
+ ++ +
+ image made by @cathodegaytube!
+