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Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

ponymessenger.com

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Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#41

Post by tailspin2019 »

Looks really great but E2EE is important to me.

Also this:

> data is not encrypted at rest [0]

I realise this is a one-person startup, but personally I would want more focus around privacy and security for a new messaging app. It’s going to be a key requirement for a lot of people I think.

Being a one person startup, this is even more important, as the “company” behind this is likely not to have the same level of security measures that a larger company would have (I know this is an assumption but it’s a reasonable one).

I absolutely love the concept and the execution so far looks great. We do need a messaging app like this!

[0] https://www.ponymessenger.com/privacy

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#42

Post by pbourke »

dmitryminkovsky wrote: post #8
vorpalhex wrote: post #6

Neat idea. Lovely interface. However, no mention of monetization strategy. Are you selling my personal data? Do you show me ads? Do you intend to sell subscriptions? Also, no E2E _and_ it's not open source/self-hostable. I need at least one of those. Either I don't need to trust you because things are E2E encrypted, or you establish trust by letting me see and verify code.

Thank you! I really appreciate it. > However, no mention of monetization strategy. Thanks for bringing this up. I was hoping to give a brief introduction and then to field questions. I will definitely not be selling personal data, or data otherwise. I do have some monetization ideas, and I'm really excited to try them out. They're all going to fit nicely with the core concept of the platform: periodicity. One of them…

> While I consider myself a really solid full stack developer and believe that Pony's infrastructure is secure, I do not have the requisite experience with cryptography to honestly represent to people that this is a private platform.

It would be great if this existed as an infrastructure-level service. Something like the Signal “API” that allows apps like yours to be built on top.

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#45

Post by jedimastert »

tut-urut-utut wrote: post #35
jedimastert wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I remember this a few years ago...I should get back into it.

No, you won't go back into it! If you remember it, and used it a few years ago, but then forgot about it until some random HN post mentioned it, it's not something with persistent utility (addiction) to you. EDIT: I see I got understood in a way I didn't intend to. Didn't want to say anything about parent, just pointing out that mentioned platform itself lack addictiveness to be considered a good (successful) social…

I'm in a very different place than I was a few years ago.

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#46

Post by chiefalchemist »

Very nice.

Can each msg have it's own pickup / delivery time? For example, I might want Msg A to Person X be lunch-ish, but B to Y might be after work.

An example scenario might be a personal trainer reminding X to eat and health lunch, but Y gets an after work nudge to go to the guy.

Note: I realize such things could be self-reminders (read: TODO app) but there's sonething to be said for hearing from someone else and possibly being accountable to them as well.

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#47

Post by ISL »

dmitryminkovsky wrote: post #27
steelbrain wrote: post #10

Thanks for working on this. It reminds me of a social app called Slowly ( https://slowly.app/en/ ) where you write "letters" to people and they are delivered based on the approximate physical distance between them. It's common for letters across countries to take >12 or sometimes even >24 hours. It's led people to a lot of meaningful relationships/friendships, they publish some as stories: https://slowly.app/en/story…

I hadn't seen Slowly. That's awesome—thanks for sharing. I really like how it's tied to physical distance. I really want to add more delivery modes, with geographical distance being one possible factor. For me a big deal is not just the slow delivery, but the inability to instantly send as well. The presence of a send button has this effect of making me send things that aren't ready. I don't intend Pony to encourage…

The ability to edit really is a wonderful feature. I find that I perpetually tweak forum/social media/Slack posts a minute or two after posting, just to improve clarity.

The idea of email (even if it carries with it some versioning history) that is editable is really nice.

Is there a way to interface Pony with email directly, so that an app isn't required?

I can imagine giving ISL@ponymail.com out to people with the clear expectation that my SLA for a reply is 24-48 hours instead of instantaneous and that my SLA for their correspondence is also similar.

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#49

Post by e40 »

jedimastert wrote: post #45
tut-urut-utut wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you won't go back into it! If you remember it, and used it a few years ago, but then forgot about it until some random HN post mentioned it, it's not something with persistent utility (addiction) to you. EDIT: I see I got understood in a way I didn't intend to. Didn't want to say anything about parent, just pointing out that mentioned platform itself lack addictiveness to be considered a good (successful) social…

I'm in a very different place than I was a few years ago.

I know this is the innernets, but I always get a kick out of responses like the GP's. Wow.

Re: Show HN: Pony – a messenger for mindful correspondence

#50

Post by dmitryminkovsky »

Pxtl wrote: post #18

That's a charming idea. I could see how email bridging might be a way to achieve network effect, but then email bridging might just turn it into another email client. I'm surprised you took the approach that pickup = delivery. I would assume you'd have a lag between them, with only cancellation allowed in that gap. Basically "you have N minutes to reconsider this thing you wrote, if you've changed your mind and want…

Thank you!

> but then email bridging might just turn it into another email client.

Exactly. My first attempt at Pony was an email service. People tried it, but there was a lot of confusion about the asymmetry of some people being on an instant platform and some people being on Pony. Email comes with its own norms and expectations, and many people viewed Pony as "rebellious" or "anti-social," which was the last thing I was going for. I am trying to create something very pro-social. I decided that my strategy for overcoming network effects would be to build a unique, excellent product that people loved enough to get other people to use it. That's the only way, really, I think.

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