Metafilter Dialup group – Get to know your fellow MeFites

August 13, 2019 5:45 AM

Dialup is "A voice-chat app reviving the magic of phone calls." You can join groups that have a set schedule, a call usually once or twice a week; you get paired randomly with someone in the group for a call.

I started using this last week and I'm really into this; personally the human connections helps my mental health a lot. I know that having a phone call with a random stranger is not everyone's idea for fun — but if it is, you should download the app, and join the line ID "mefi". You can get to know each other and share an interesting thing you've seen on the internet the past week.

I set the initial schedule to Saturday, 10 pm CEST (that's 1 pm on the west coast, 4 pm on the east coast) but I'm open for suggestion for a better timeslot (I personally live in Central Europe but we should be able to find something that works for the majority of people here who live in the US.)

posted by KTamas to MetaFilter-Related at 5:45 AM (28 comments total)

WHAT. Intriguing!
I love the user reviews at the first link:

"surprising, magical" -Jonathan
"Sorry, I have to take this call." -Michael
"It was amazing." -Elyse

I like this idea. But I am trying to imagine a conversation and it is so awkward. More people should try it and report back! (I will if I try it.)
posted by Glinn at 7:17 AM on August 13, 2019

Just downloaded the app and joined mefi and one other group.
The schedule for the chat says Saturdays 8 pm, I'm in NYC so not sure if thats reflecting EST or what
posted by newpotato at 8:02 AM on August 13, 2019

As long as there's a disclaimer "heavy breather probably just has extreme social anxiety"
posted by sammyo at 10:11 AM on August 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

I'm getting Saturdays at 8 pm here in Boston too - would prefer earlier in the day because 8 pm is either bedtime for the toddler or if we have a babysitter - we'd be out.
posted by peacheater at 10:21 AM on August 13, 2019

If you see 8 pm on the east coast, that's due to a bug: the app is not picking up your timezone and you're seeing time in UTC. (there should be a timezone indicator next to the "Upcoming Calls" text)
posted by KTamas at 1:11 PM on August 13, 2019 [1 favorite]

Cool, I'm getting the right time now. Just signed up.
posted by peacheater at 3:40 PM on August 13, 2019

Neat!
posted by cortex (staff) at 4:08 PM on August 13, 2019

I'm in!
posted by cocoagirl at 7:15 PM on August 13, 2019

combines technology and having to talk to people!
wHaT cOuLd PoSsIbLy Go WrOnG?
posted by scruss at 7:14 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oo! I like the idea, but … am too anxious to actually sign up? Maybe I will. I'll be doing canning on Saturday, which might be a good time to chat on the phone. I'm interested to see how it goes for others -- please report in!
posted by Sparky Buttons at 7:59 AM on August 14, 2019 [4 favorites]

I signed up. Should be fun! I'll likely be out working on the yard, so you'll get normal everyday chatter punctuated by GRAAAAAR and UNNNGH and WHATTHE...
posted by mochapickle at 11:14 AM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

Oh, wait. It's one on one and not a group chat?
...crawls back into shell...
posted by cocoagirl at 12:07 PM on August 14, 2019

I signed up, but not sure I can manage the time (am also in Europe).
posted by ClarissaWAM at 2:13 PM on August 14, 2019 [1 favorite]

This could be fun, but no one wants to talk to me at 6am (AEST). I am not a morning person.
posted by kjs4 at 9:49 PM on August 14, 2019

Unfortunately right now the app only calls you between 9 am and 10 pm.

We could have a second time scheduled for people in other timezones: one at, say noon Sydney time is 10pm east coast / 6 pm west coast. Or something like that.
posted by KTamas at 12:18 AM on August 15, 2019

Well I just had my first chat with a stranger in India cuz I also subscribed to the "Your Boss" line. This was weird and fun.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 2:18 AM on August 15, 2019 [2 favorites]

I had three calls so far; one in a private group that was great but I kinda knew the person; and two your boss calls, one that went rather well though the person I talked with was had interesting beliefs, let's say; the other just now and it was kind of meh but I was busy working (I see the irony).

So, mixed experiences but that's expected and overall I very much dig it. I think I'm having a "Travel" call in like 2 hours which is very timely as I'm boarding a flight to Canada this afternoon.
posted by KTamas at 2:41 AM on August 15, 2019 [3 favorites]

But we hate talking on the phone. :(
posted by bendy at 8:50 PM on August 16, 2019 [2 favorites]

Hum, turns out 10pm on a Saturday night is not a time I feel up for random phone calls with (semi-)strangers. I hope everyone else is having fun tho!
posted by ClarissaWAM at 1:04 PM on August 17, 2019

Okay, that was lovely! I highly recommend.
posted by mochapickle at 2:19 PM on August 17, 2019 [3 favorites]

That was so interesting and lots of fun!
posted by RandomInconsistencies at 3:14 PM on August 17, 2019 [3 favorites]

for me Life came up and couldn’t participate but I’m glad that others did and have fun. Next week should work for me.
posted by KTamas at 5:04 PM on August 18, 2019

On the other hand I had a great call this week and looking forward to the next one.
posted by KTamas at 1:31 PM on August 24, 2019

I just had my first call and it was with KTamas himself! We talked a little about how Dialup works and then about the memorable MeFi posts we’d seen and now I have two interesting sounding threads to go read. I’m looking forward to another call next week. Thank you for organizing this cool thing, KTamas!

[On preview: Oh hi!]
posted by pickles_have_souls at 1:43 PM on August 24, 2019

This is the best. Two weeks, two fascinating conversations with amazing people, so much to think about! Thank you for setting this up, KTamas!
posted by mochapickle at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2019

Oh wow! Just had my first chat with mochapickles, what a pleasure!

We talked for almost 90 minutes about Life, The World and People. We concluded they are huge, filled with tiny bits of beauty, compex and difficult, and absolutely worth the effort.
posted by ipsative at 2:34 PM on August 24, 2019 [3 favorites]

I had a lovely conversation today with a Mefite in the UK - so much fun! This app is great.
posted by mogget at 2:43 PM on August 24, 2019

I had to sit on it a bit but it turns out I like the idea of talking to MeFites more than I dislike being on the phone, so, okay! I'm in!
posted by cortex (staff) at 6:45 PM on August 24, 2019 [1 favorite]