Most social apps have likes. Reddit has upvotes. X has likes. Slack has reactions. At first, I assumed Bored People Chat would eventually need them too.

Then people started using the site. Someone typed /me dramatically sighs into the void. Another person wrote making noise so the room knows im real. They weren't trying to be interesting, go viral, or collect likes. They were trying to let the room know they were there.

Likes change behavior

The moment you add likes, people stop asking what do I want to say? and start asking what will get reactions? Quiet messages disappear. Weird messages disappear. Vulnerable messages disappear. People start performing. The room becomes a stage. That's not the feeling I'm trying to create.

I don't want BPC to feel like work

Slack reactions are useful. I use them. But they also create subtle social pressure. Who reacted? Who didn't? Why did that message get ten reactions while mine got none? Bored People Chat isn't a productivity tool. It's a campfire. You can lurk, read, wander in, say nothing, and leave. Nobody is waiting for you to perform.

Presence over popularity

So instead of scoring messages, BPC has room reactions: 👋 Wave, 🔥 Add to the campfire, 🎉 Confetti, 🥳 Party. These aren't evaluations. There is no count, no leaderboard, no "best message of the day." They're acknowledgements. I see you. I'm here too.

When someone waves, the whole room sees it rise up for a moment. A line stays in the feed (🦦 TinyOtter waved.), not to rank anyone, but so the room remembers that someone was present. That's closer to nodding across a campfire than upvoting a post.

Enough places to perform already

I wanted a place where someone could type /me dramatically sighs into the void and not worry about getting zero likes. If you want applause, there are bigger stages. If you want to be seen without being judged, maybe a small room is enough.

BPC will keep changing. Games will come and go. Features will grow. But the core idea is simple: presence without pressure. Not was my message good enough? Just is anyone else here? And sometimes, quietly, yeah, I'm here too.