←back to thread

Show HN: Send kind and aspirational words to a stranger who needs it

(kindnesssender.com)
30 points mketab | 8 comments | 06 Sep 25 23:32 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom

It is simply a reason to be kind to one another, for kindness may be the only medicine for the world’s pain.
Show context
lutusp ◴[07 Sep 25 03:37 UTC] No.45155187[source]▶
Wait, what? An email address harvester that expects people to volunteer? And that tries to get the sender's geographical position along the way?

The stated purpose could be served without requiring an email address. It could also be served without assuming people will prefer an AI-generated message over their own personally crafted prose ... do such people really exist?

The second goal presumes a person's illiteracy. The first presumes a person's stupidity. Based on those facts and my sampling of recent Internet dialogues, this plan should be a roaring success.

A warning to participants -- from a legal standpoint, you can't accuse someone of stealing your email address if you volunteer it in the first place.

> ... kindness may be the only medicine for the world’s pain.

On the contrary, education is the only medicine for the world's pain. And to avoid unintended consequences, kindness must be accompanied by wisdom.

replies(1): >>45155430 #
1. mketab ◴[07 Sep 25 04:35 UTC] No.45155430[source]▶
Great feedback, a couple of clarifications: It is not an email harvester. The reason for collecting emails is to be able to send kind messages. If someone wants to unsubscribe, they can easily do so by clicking the unsubscribe button in the email they receive. Geographical position is optional. You’re right that it can be misused in the wrong hands. The intent for requesting geographical information is: A. Showing the country counts, which indicates how many people across the world have sent these messages. B. Displaying it in the email so the receiver can see the place from which the sender has sent it. But again, this is optional, as I mentioned earlier. The AI-generated message is a secondary option. The “how it works” section explains that you can craft a message in any language yourself. The AI then checks the content to ensure it is not harmful, and it can optionally translate it if you write it in a non-English language. And I completely agree with you that education is paramount. Thanks for bringing these matters up so I can clarify.
replies(3): >>45155527 #>>45155536 #>>45155890 #
2. satisfice ◴[07 Sep 25 05:01 UTC] No.45155527[source]▶
You say it's not an email harvester. But who are you? Are you an unkind person who tells lies about your true purposes? We don't know. Think about how this looks to someone who doesn't know you.

What the world needs is kindness. Real kindness. But it also needs people who understand basic epistemology.

replies(1): >>45155581 #
3. trinsic2 ◴[07 Sep 25 05:02 UTC] No.45155536[source]▶
do you send marketing emails to the account holder?
replies(1): >>45155544 #
4. mketab ◴[07 Sep 25 05:03 UTC] No.45155544[source]▶
I don’t have a marketing agency or anything like that.
5. mketab ◴[07 Sep 25 05:12 UTC] No.45155581[source]▶
That’s a fair assumption. We also need people who can trust with caution, otherwise, there wouldn’t be any transactions or exchanges in the world, since every form of transaction or exchange involves an element of trust.
replies(1): >>45157535 #
6. thisislife2 ◴[07 Sep 25 06:31 UTC] No.45155890[source]▶
I don't know if it is an email harvester or an AI experiment. But when I saw the email field, my first thought was, "Why does this service need my email to send my anonymous kind thoughts to someone?", and you lost me there - I am not going to trust a service that I know nothing about with any personal data, especially one where such personal data isn't really required for the purpose stated.
replies(1): >>45155957 #
7. mketab ◴[07 Sep 25 06:48 UTC] No.45155957[source]▶
I respect your decision, and wish you the best.
8. satisfice ◴[07 Sep 25 12:18 UTC] No.45157535{3}[source]▶
I can trust with caution. THIS looks like a scam, with “kindness” as bait.

And if it isn’t a scam, it would remain a creepy application of AI that cheapens the idea of kindess.