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“I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

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Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#101

Post by lrei »

CyberShadow wrote: post #54
lrei wrote: post #47

I wonder why they have the silly 2 + 3 = ? thing in their form at the bottom of the homepage. It's text/html, so it can't be anti-bot and seems like pointless for a human... Does anyone else know the logic behind that?

I don't see the field you're referring to, but I'll try to answer with a best guess anyway. Most web spam bots fall into two categories: 1. They target a certain web software package (such as WordPress), for which they know the HTML layout and the range of possible CAPTCHA challenges. 2. They try to fill out every HTML form they find blindly, using heuristics based on the names of form input elements. To defeat both,…

Thanks. But that challenge is so trivial to defeat by simple pattern matching with zero cost that the cost of adding code to a bot to break this type of challenge seems negligible.

PS: it's a the bottom of the landing page (not signup)

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#102

Post by Lewton »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #74
noir_lord wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No it doesn't, it comes across as a light hearted joke. Context is important as is apparently a thicker skin.

Well, imagine if the gender roles were reversed then. "Haha, you're so much better/funnier/sexier than my gf" would be a disaster to a woman, especially if I spent my day flirting with this fake girl. The hypothetical real girlfriend taking offense at this is 100% understandable. Go ahead and post to /r/askwomen if they think it would be hilarious if their boyfriends and husbands flirted with a fake woman 24/7 and co…

If the gender roles were reversed, and the guy was a journalist writing a piece about his invisible girlfriend, then being offended by that joke would be equally ridiculous.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#103

Post by kazagistar »

Raphmedia wrote: post #94

Invisible Girlfriend Monthly Subscription: $24.99/month 100 texts 10 voicemails 1 postcard ... I think 100 texts is a bit low for $24.99/month. The postcard option is very nice, so are the voice mails however. But how do the voice mails work? Will it be the same voice every time?

25 cents for a "culturally and emotionally attuned" response seems fairly reasonable to me. It comes out to something like 100 seconds per response just to match minimum US wage.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#104

Post by dsuth »

ctdonath wrote: post #70
return0 wrote: post #59

Not surprised that it works, it looks like something fun to do on both sides. In fact, i believe people who love romance would sign up for a free service like this on both ends. (Since their niche is people who dont want to have the actual relationships, they could easily pair up their users with each other as pure conversation partners). The sad thing is the reason that this app exists. Has it become so taboo to be…

The really sad thing is that by using something (like this) to veil singleness, one cuts off any genuine interest from a genuine person. Few will initiate a date with someone texting their (unbenownst virtual) "significant other".

Thats really not how dating works, at all. Competition spurs attraction, not the other way around.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#105

Post by Vaskivo »

taki wrote: post #19

Reading this all I can think of are the "ractors" in Stephenson's "The Diamond Age" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_Age ).

I'm reading and loving that book.

Of all the technological wonders of the setting, "ractors" are what amazed me the most. It's the perfect interactive experience, a full-time "Wizard of Oz"[0].

Maybe we can see something of the kind in the following year with the advancement of VR thechnology..

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_of_Oz_experiment

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#106

Post by dsuth »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #73

>>“That rapport you feel with Ryan may actually be six or seven Ryans,” Homann explains. Or Rhondas. Women know what women want from a fake boyfriend service. What subterfuge is needed to fool the parents, what parents expect, etc. The text exchange about Downton Abbey makes me suspect that their staff are, at least partly, female.

Women and men have distinctly different energies, even over text-based mediums. While this wouldn't necessarily stop them from doing this, it's not how I'd design the service.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#107

Post by stephancoral »

m4tthumphrey wrote: post #95

What happens when mum want's to meet him/her?

That's where my new service, visibleboyfriend.io, comes in. We lease premium models, in both male and female forms, to accompany you to business meetings, family dinners, government functions et cetera. Our models have all been vetted as being 'significantly more attractive than anyone you could probably hope to date' by an independent council of data scientists and casting agency magnates. We also train our models to be conversant in various worldly topics, ranging from literature (Byron is especially popular these days) to art history to economics and politics. Email me for more details and to sign up for our beta: steve@visibleboyfriend.io

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#109

Post by mattgreenrocks »

drzaiusapelord wrote: post #97
EGreg wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm a liberal but probably not the demographic you think. Compare if the situation was reversed for the following phrase: "Oh, you're so much more dependable than my actual gf." Or "Oh, you're so much funnier than my actual girlfriend". Men would get far more offended than women. Why is that? Why aren't there as many female comedians? I think that biologically, women value the intimacy and sexual appeal that their ma…

Justifying dual standards with questionable evolutionary psychology, frankly, is just not convincing. If I found my wife flirting with other men online, be it via a "fake" service - whatever that may mean, its a serious violation of my trust and damages our relationship on a significant level. I don't care what hamfisted biological theories you toss out, its hurtful and disloyal. We're not all Sheldon Cooper. >advent…

I think people cling to these theories in the hope they could explain every facet of human behavior. There's no Grand Unifying Theory of Relationships, period.

Certain people may act a certain way, but if you're choosing a mate, you don't want just anybody. Life isn't a popularity contest; you're not trying to capture the imagination of a random person. People mature at different rates, and have different value systems. These forces check our base impulses, and shape us into someone who is more than just the product of our own petty desires.

Worse, reductionism often carries with it an implicit acquiescence to terrible behavior.

Re: “I paid $25 for an Invisible Boyfriend, and I think I might be in love”

#110

Post by Vaskivo »

tinkerrr wrote: post #88
dreamweapon wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Has it become so taboo to be single that you have to pay to hide it? Apparently yes, sadly. Even so, I can't imagine this app could possible be worth the time (let alone the cost). Especially when simply lying to people (who aren't close friends anyway), as needed -- or in the case of a good chunk of my direct family, explicitly firewalling ("Look, over the years I've been having various relationships with various pe…

> Even so, I can't imagine this app could possible be worth the time I think that's why the founder is talking of expanding the service already, such as getting flowers on Valentine's, say. It might provide social worth to some, who see this extravaganza displayed on every other desk at their work.

I can see this evolving from "let others think I have a boyfriend" to "I'm going to feel like I have a boyfriend".

People already pay for sex. People already pay for non-sexual escorts (which i believe is mostly for show-off[0]). I can totally see people paying for the "boyfriend experience".

Some random texts, gifts in specific days. A compliment and a "how's your day". All in pure 21st century fashion - social-media centered.

It's depressing but I can imagine a lot of people that, while having lots of friends, are emotionally lonely.

Why not generate custom made, fully interactive, multi-media waifus[1]

[0] I think it affirms a man's power if he shows up with a pretty lady.

[1] http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/waifu

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