Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think the community is kinda broken.
Can I reliably get a couch in most countries where the owner won’t try to rape, kidnap or rob me? Then it’s good enough for me
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Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
41–50 of 168 posts
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#42The social proof that a couch surfing reference brought was second to none. Each one boils down to this "I, a stranger, stayed for a few nights in this other strangers home for free, and they were good human beings". That social proof carried to any part of the globe you visited. I cannot think of an internet app that brought people together in a more meaningful and wholesome way at scale. It was great while it laste…
Pareto principle. 80% of people are decent human beings, but the 20% that aren’t cause 80% of the problems.
20% of people are not decent human beings? Harsh.
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#43There's Pasporta Servo, still going strong since way before couchsurfing was a thing. You need a moderate amount of implication, which acts as a sort of filter for people who only want to goof around. This can be either a good or a bad thing.
"implication"?
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#44Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Probably at least partly a feature, to ensure a minimum level of commitment from members? My word of mouth knowledge of how well it works is good enough that I would pay without hesitation if I needed it.
If I'm trying this idea for the first time. I'd like to know if my planned routes have potential places on WS or am I just paying for a "your search has 0 results" page.
I just checked with the guy who recommended it to me and he said when he used it, it was free. Website also seems to confirm that. Not sure what changed when?
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#46The social proof that a couch surfing reference brought was second to none. Each one boils down to this "I, a stranger, stayed for a few nights in this other strangers home for free, and they were good human beings". That social proof carried to any part of the globe you visited. I cannot think of an internet app that brought people together in a more meaningful and wholesome way at scale. It was great while it laste…
> That social proof carried to any part of the globe you visited.
> I cannot think of an internet app that brought people together in a more meaningful and wholesome way at scale.
It also carried over to friendships. For a few short months, I was one of the most active hosts in my city (mainly because we had a house with lots of space and all of my housemates were couchsurfers), until the landlord wanted to sell and we had to move. After that, when I could no longer host, couchsurfers were still my primary social group and we met up multiple times a week to hang out, party or do activities together. I miss those days. I also know at least three people who met their spouses through couchsurfing.
On the other hand, my Airbnb experience was that of a cheaper hotel/rented accommodation, with no new friends, no social aspect, just a place to stay in exchange for money.
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#47WarmShowers still seems to work very well, with a spirit similar to the original CouchSurfing, though it is restricted to cyclists.
A note for those talking about it going non-free downthread, that's apparently fairly recent and a sad example of central board control going closed behavior. From https://openhospitality.network:
>Open Alternative to WarmShowers.org - contributors to the community-built WarmShowers Android app, first released in 2012, before any WS board existed (2015), with which the community has grown, and whose access was cut off after WS board closed backend code (ca. 2017) and released a new paid app (2020), effectively excluding from the community members who access the platform from mobile devices only and for whom the fee for the new app is unaffordable (i.a. long-distance bike tourers and hosts from countries with less developed infrastructure). The devs and other community members made previously many attempts to inform the board about the situation.
I haven't dug into the links and it doesn't seem to have been discussed on HN before, but it sounds like an unfortunately typical story. Of course, with each time that happens communities learn a bit about how to react differently going forward which I hope will bear fruit.
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#48The only time I touched cs was in 2014, when my wife suggested to find a place via it and registered a female profile. 100% of the profiles looking at her were male and like from a dating site ad. There also was an unwanted email spam about who she could stay with - also very dating-site-like. Airbnb felt way more friendlier and safer.
Oof, that's rather sad. My experience with it was 2008 and 2009 and it was very different: very casual, interesting people from around the world staying with and hanging out with each other. It was very pleasant and was the focal point of my social life during that time, until I moved to a town without a presence that was too far away from any hub area. And then I heard it declined... which is I guess where your experience comes in. That's very sad.
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#49A few developers from different HospEx (hospitality exchange) platforms (Trustroots, WarmShowers Android app devs, BeWelcome) started an attempt to federate the HospEx world.
Mariha (@mariha:matrix.org) was contributing for Warm Showers Android App and with https://warmshowers.bike/ happening she kind of kick-started the whole project.
We got funding recently from https://ngi.eu and with that we start to work for the next generation internet.
We would love to revive the spirit of early Couchsurfing and Warm Showers
Re: Paradise lost: The rise and ruin of Couchsurfing.com
#50A friend of mine, she used to travel a lot, used it as a dating app. She said better as Tinder, more transparency and in the worst case still a comfy couch. She met her husband via it.
>more transparency
Really...I always heard it was terrible for guys because people only wanted female guests, women because it probably meant they weren't interested in sex, men because it meant maybe they might get laid.
The possibility of romance never really seemed like a transparent implication to me.