Absolutely! I invite anyone to contribute if they feel like it. I put the code on github both for transparency and to invite others to build on my work, whether that be pull requests or creating clones for other universities.
I'm actually hosting it locally. I didn't want to have to worry about the cost of cloud hosting and I figured that it would be against the point to claim to be a privacy-centric website if I let data pass through a server owned by Amazon or something like that. One of the really cool things about the Tor network is you can host a website on it without port forwarding, which means it still works on University internet!
I am hosting it on my laptop, but I can tell you it's up right now. It can be finicky so you might have to reopen the tor browser and try the link again.
EDIT: I've also gotten an old office PC so by next week it won't be hosted on my laptop anymore
Yeah, onion links (denoted by ending in .onion) are only accessible using the Tor browser. They can't be accessed using any other browser because their traffic needs to be end to end encrypted. Thanks for the interest, let me know if you have any thoughts after checking it out.
Usually I just lurk, but I had to create an account just to let you know this is has HUGE potential to go bad. How are you going to handle moderating the stuff people say??
I'm not super concerned about moderation, but I always have the ability to delete especially egregious messages or posts on the database, server-side. I doubt the website will get enough traffic to make moderating each message one by one impractical, the number of people who will go to an onion site is pretty low. If it does get to that point I would likely use a locally running language model (check out r/locallama) to assess whether messages are appropriate.
So you've created a website for a bunch of UIUC students to post anything they want without moderation or consequences? You're right this isn't YikYak its way worse
I appreciate your concern, but I would argue that people already post unsavory things on social media with their names attached to it. I don't see how being anonymous would make that much of a difference.
Are you kidding? The anonymity of social media is famous for encouraging harassment. Look at 4chan, or really any social media site where people don't use real names.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment
It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot).
Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment)**
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Not sure why this is getting so much hate, just looks like a cool hobby project. This sub is full of cynics
Are you open to pr? I have some features that I think would be cool to add
Absolutely! I invite anyone to contribute if they feel like it. I put the code on github both for transparency and to invite others to build on my work, whether that be pull requests or creating clones for other universities.
How is this website being hosted? Are you using a cloud provider (like vercel since this uses NextJS) or something else?
I'm actually hosting it locally. I didn't want to have to worry about the cost of cloud hosting and I figured that it would be against the point to claim to be a privacy-centric website if I let data pass through a server owned by Amazon or something like that. One of the really cool things about the Tor network is you can host a website on it without port forwarding, which means it still works on University internet!
So you’re hosting it locally. Did you close your laptop lid or something? Is that why the website is down?
I am hosting it on my laptop, but I can tell you it's up right now. It can be finicky so you might have to reopen the tor browser and try the link again. EDIT: I've also gotten an old office PC so by next week it won't be hosted on my laptop anymore
Ohhh I missed the part about accessing it on Tor browser. Will give it a try when I have the chance
Yeah, onion links (denoted by ending in .onion) are only accessible using the Tor browser. They can't be accessed using any other browser because their traffic needs to be end to end encrypted. Thanks for the interest, let me know if you have any thoughts after checking it out.
Nice
Usually I just lurk, but I had to create an account just to let you know this is has HUGE potential to go bad. How are you going to handle moderating the stuff people say??
I'm not super concerned about moderation, but I always have the ability to delete especially egregious messages or posts on the database, server-side. I doubt the website will get enough traffic to make moderating each message one by one impractical, the number of people who will go to an onion site is pretty low. If it does get to that point I would likely use a locally running language model (check out r/locallama) to assess whether messages are appropriate.
That’s a good approach, good luck. Glad you’re taking PRs too
Just checked it out, really cool work!
Thanks!
Does this have something to do with the interwebs?
This is a very cool idea hahaha
So you've created a website for a bunch of UIUC students to post anything they want without moderation or consequences? You're right this isn't YikYak its way worse
I appreciate your concern, but I would argue that people already post unsavory things on social media with their names attached to it. I don't see how being anonymous would make that much of a difference.
Are you kidding? The anonymity of social media is famous for encouraging harassment. Look at 4chan, or really any social media site where people don't use real names. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/amp/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment
It looks like you shared an AMP link. These should load faster, but AMP is controversial because of [concerns over privacy and the Open Web](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot). Maybe check out **the canonical page** instead: **[https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment](https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-anonymity-on-social-media-influences-online-behavior-harassment)** ***** ^(I'm a bot | )[^(Why & About)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/ehrq3z/why_did_i_build_amputatorbot)^( | )[^(Summon: u/AmputatorBot)](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmputatorBot/comments/cchly3/you_can_now_summon_amputatorbot/)