New top story on Hacker News: Show HN: Turn any WiFi into a persistent group chat

Show HN: Turn any WiFi into a persistent group chat
40 by melvinmt | 26 comments on Hacker News.
Try it out on your WiFi: https://tapchat.com I’ve always been shocked at the fact that it’s easier to chat with someone on the other side of the world than with someone who is on the exact same WiFi as you. I think that is a shame because WiFi networks are essentially a bunch of existing micro-communities which your phone already automatically connects to. Think about how many other people have used or will use the same WiFi as you at home, school, work, or in public; and so far it has been practically impossible to chat or share pictures with them. After leaving my job earlier this year, I decided to work on a simple chat app that solves this problem, by simply opening a persistent group chat for every WiFi you connect to, which allows for long-lasting conversations and meaningful relationships everywhere you go. So far a great use case I've seen are college campuses where thousands of students connect to the same WiFi, and who can now all chat with each other. I'd love to see what else this can or will be used for. (Spoiler alert: the app doesn’t bother with mesh networks) Feedback is much appreciated! (the gentle kind)