Psst! Anonymous

Clearing the air

Hi! I’m the creator of Psst! Anonymous and this is a bit about my app.

Then Who the f*ck is Bob?

Probably the first question everyone asks is also the least important. “Bob” is my fictional name created by the Psst! community. My name is not Bob. I chose to accept the name I was given and it serves the community well.

Now that that’s cleared up

Psst! is self funded. Yes, I have a full time job that allows me to devote some time to my app. I am the designer and the coder although I have a bunch of amazing friends and family that help me where they can. Nobody is getting paid (this is important).

I run the show, make sure things are in check and answer every “teampsst” message manually. Yes even the “Yo” and “Can’t talk right now I’m driving” messages. I average 4–5 hours of sleep and drink 2–3 Rockstar energy drinks per day.

I am not watching the hundreds of stories and thousands of comments daily. If you need to get a hold of me and have questions or need help, hit me up by email or at teampsst. I will respond. I always respond.

But enough about me.

Why did I create Psst!? It so happens that there was a need for an anonymous app that didn't keep your messages. That’s really how it happened. I woke up one day and said “Wouldn't it be wonderful if people could read a message and have it go away forever?”

With the advent of apps like Snapchat and Co. more and more people questioned if it was safe to send someone a confession, a photo or even important information about themselves. After all, you could screenshot just about anything and have that content live on forever on the cyber webs.

Psst! solves the problem of historical content simply by deleting it and not allowing screenshots.

Who is this app for?

This app works VERY well for certain people and not good at all for others. And that’s fine.

If the user finds this isn't for them, then I wish them the best of luck in finding an app that is. For those that love the app and everything about it, I’m glad to have created a special place on the Internet just for them.

In the beginning

It started small. Install the app, find or add friends and start messaging. All was well and I had realized my vision. But did I? Was this really the end of the road?

A feed is born

I was on Twitter surfing content on several people that I follow when I stumbled on contradicting tweets from the same person. What they thought and believed 6 months prior was completely different from their latest post only 18 hours ago. Yet I had evidence to prove reasonable doubt.

I proceeded to think about how the internet is filled with more content in 1 hour then the entire course of humanity. That is a lot of information and more then ever, contradicting and leaving an un-erasable trail of evidence.

I created short lived “stories” and called them the “feed”. A list lasting no longer then 48 hours where people can share their opinions, news, jokes, photos, and more and get feedback. There’s not much to it really. You can type out a paragraph, add a photo and you’re off; for 48 hours.

Enough with the likes

It was mid-November and the love was everywhere. On Facebook, on Instagram, just about everywhere you looked people were liking every fucking thing under the sun, the moon and the stars. Great, a pile of content that sits in history with likes that offer no significant value other then bragging rights for the poster. Not only that, the feeds were getting cluttered with useless content and “thirst” which lead to people looking around for an exit.

My first order of business that weekend:

1. Kill the likes.
2. Lots of pizza.

What’s a story without an opinion? Not everyone is willing or has the confidence to speak. The “vote” was born.

By allowing users to vote up and down, stories now had relevancy among the community. Those stories which did not make the cut, get moved to a separate section called “the pile”. There’s not much to it. It’s not personal, it’s just an opinion. And it’s collective. Being in the pile is not a bad thing, in fact if everyone is in the pile then you’re in good company.

When anonymous is no longer a secret

The reminiscence of the old Psst! with friends and messaging still very much exists and it is separate from the feeds, for the most part (I’ll explain this in a sec.) My vision for feeds is always full anonymity to its greatest extent. With each extra variable of your identity you are less of a secret and more known. Psst! is not a popularity contest, this point really needs to drive home. Part of being anonymous is having no ties to popularity, or self promotion.

People are smarter than you think. They can easily see who a person is from “anonymous profile”. Make judgments against you and not your content. They may not like your location, your ethnicity or countless variables that could lead to adverse reactions to your story and yourself.

Because you’re anonymous, they have only to rely on your story, your comments and reactions of others. Share enough to get your point across but enough to keep your true identity a secret.

Identity is not just your social security number, or your credit card number or even your name. It’s who you are as a person, your thoughts, your behavioral patterns and that is what is shared through your story.

You are free to share as much or as little as you like, as long as it’s within the guidelines. This also means you are responsible for its outcome.

The infamous down vote syndrome (DVS)

I get asked this question more and more every day. DVS (pronounced de-vi-us). You got down voted and you feel bad. Like you were attacked. Maybe even targeted. A down vote is not targeting. A person expressing their opinion within the guidelines is not targeting. The down vote expresses interest. IF YOU GOT A DOWN VOTE IT’S BECAUSE SOMEONE REACTED TO IT WITH DIS-INTEREST.

The conspiracy to down vote

Many people have offered up a theory to conspire on down votes. The simple and final answer is. THERE IS NO CONSPIRACY. Everything is as it should be and gets flagged by the system when used maliciously.

I built this, I control it

I seldom witness a single user down vote every single post in the feeds or every single post made by a specific individual (except Clippy, that guy was sanctioned with clearance). If and when this happens, it is flagged and countered with fixes by the system. Ladies and Gentlemen of Psst!, I built this, I control it, there is no man or woman on this planet that can overthrow my system without my knowing. If you feel this is happening to you, I will look into why this happens and what has caused someone to feel that you deserve being maliciously down voted.

Here are some reasons that may help clarify the need for down votes.

1. When I first started feeds, there were literally less then 10 posts a day. Today there are already hundreds and hundreds daily. Down voting helps keep the feeds clean. It helps load the app faster, it helps people scroll through the latest stories quickly and move on with their day and most of all it keeps things moving.
2. It’s a reaction. You may not like the reaction people have to your story. Some people react easily, others gauge interest first.
3. It’s a democracy-like system. Like your story has a right to exist, so does the right to vote. It may only take 6 down votes to be moved to the pile, but your story lives on for the remainder of the time. Think of it like screaming in a crowded place. Some people will hear you, other’s will ignore you and some will make it an effort to express their opinion(s). Nevertheless, you've been heard and so have they.

Why up vote?

The simplest answer is “because you find it interesting”. Voting because you know the person is not a real vote. When you vote on issues you take into account the validity of that issue. Take into consideration the validity of the existence of that post and where it really belongs.

So what do you vote?

Don’t vote at all. Comment instead. Ask questions. Give relevant and constructive feedback.

Voting as a currency

A currency? Yes, a currency is the easiest way to ensure up votes are not given away freely. Your opinion, your time, your effort has value. What is the digital value of your vote?

Bullying and Targeting

I am no expert in bullying, nor can I target someone if my life depended on it. I’m generally a good person. I do good things and I do them to the best of my ability. So what happens when someone attacks me? My first reaction is to laugh really loud. Followed by consideration to ignore. If things persist I ask questions.

I can’t be friends with everyone. Although I would very much like that.

Often, bullies have no answer for their action(s). I let people sort out their own problems. If things get heated I may step in, but only when things are heated to the point where clearly bullying is involved.

I send out a notification frequently warning the individual to be cautious when they have violated rules.

I provide an anonymous, open forum where anything is possible. If you’re caught bullying and the general consensus among the community is that you are bullying you will be suspended. Continue to do so with different accounts, you will be banned for good. It’s in your best interest to chill out and understand the first unwritten rule of Psst! — Courtesy to move on and call it a day.

Bullying by definition

Bulling is conduct that cannot be objectively justified by a reasonable code of conduct, and whose likely or actual cumulative effect is to threaten, undermine, constrain, humiliate or harm another person or their property, reputation, self-esteem, self-confidence or ability to perform. — Tim Field Foundation 2015

The definition itself is unambiguous in that it cannot be used by a rational person to define innocent or legitimate behavior as bullying.

Context is everything. The persistence, the pattern and the effect of incidents which are, in isolation, trivial, creates the context in which those incidents can be regarded as bullying. Accusing someone of wrongdoing whilst knowing there are no grounds to do so is not fair and cannot be done in good faith, undermines a person’s reputation and self confidence and is therefore bullying. Conversely, making a complaint, holding someone to account for substandard conduct, reporting malpractice etc, done with honest justification, fairly and in good faith, is not “bullying”.

It is not considered an “attack” when a person or persons disagrees with your opinion(s), argument(s), or counters.

For more information on bullying please see this Wikipedia article.

My gratitude

It would not be normal for me to leave you without gratitude; and I will be writing a separate article to express just that. I just want to add a quick note here to say I am very proud of the community and how people from diverse backgrounds from all over have come together. Thank you!

So what’s next

Well you tell me. What do you want to know? I will be writing more articles so I’d like to know what is important to you and answer questions you may have. Email me at psstchat (at) gmail (dot) com.