# Talking to a Stranger **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 12, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537 "2009-06-12T07:51:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/1 "2009-06-12T07:51:54Z")
Saw a youtube video about a [website that lets you chat with a stranger](http://omegle.com/). Kind of cool, I tried it out and I’m talking to someone who’s apparently from China and isn’t too great in Geography. ---
**Author:** ![Stealth\_Potato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Stealth\_Potato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stealth_Potato)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/2 "2009-06-12T08:20:00Z")
I haven’t tried Omegle yet, but a while ago there was this Flash “game” called “Cheer Up The Chatbot” that ostensibly was a depressed chatbot you had to try to cheer up with friendly conversation. What it really did, though, was randomly connect you to another person who was playing the same game. I figured that out pretty quickly, and thereafter I had quite a few surreal conversations with people who had no idea they were actually talking to a fellow human being. As it happened, some of the most hilarious were the ones where the person on the other end decided to try to sex up the chatbot. :dubious: I have some pretty amusing logs of it somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![Lars\_Aruns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c68b51/32.png) [@Lars\_Aruns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lars_Aruns)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/3 "2009-06-12T10:23:18Z")
Just tried Omegle. This is the log of my first conversation: **Random Stranger** : Hi **Me** : Hi There **RS** : Where are you? **Me** : UK. You? **RS** : China **RS** : Boy or girl? **Me** : Does it matter? It’s not like this is a sex chat anyway. He disconnected. ---
**Author:** ![EpicNonsense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c37758/32.png) [@EpicNonsense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EpicNonsense)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/4 "2009-06-12T10:51:57Z")
Haha… On second thought, I’ll try the same approach and see what happens. Edit: AHAHAHA Omegle Talk to strangers! 2391 users online Connecting to server… You’re now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi! Stranger: hi You: Hi there Stranger: asl You: 12 F USA Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! It continued to repeat… What does it mean? ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/5 "2009-06-12T12:20:46Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > Saw a youtube video about a [website that lets you chat with a stranger](http://omegle.com/). Kind of cool, I tried it out and I’m talking to someone who’s apparently from China and isn’t too great in Geography. Wow - thanks for the link. I just tried it and had a nice conversation with a young lady who is a college student in Korea. ---
**Author:** ![lalenin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@lalenin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lalenin)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/6 "2009-06-12T15:06:58Z")
That site is depressing, second question every single time was ‘asl’, and every single time it was followed by a disconnect. Doesn’t anyone like 93,n,e? ---
**Author:** ![Trollhaugen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/43a26b/32.png) [@Trollhaugen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trollhaugen)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/7 "2009-06-12T15:26:31Z")
Tried twice. First time was a disconnect when they found out I was of the male gender. Second was a cool conversation with a Korean gamer. Seems like a perfect timewaster… ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/8 "2009-06-12T15:32:55Z")
Dude, how is this any different from a chat room? It was crappy in 1994, and it’s crappy now. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/9 "2009-06-12T15:36:29Z")
They want you to speak in American Sign Language? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/10 "2009-06-12T15:46:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > Dude, how is this any different from a chat room? It was crappy in 1994, and it’s crappy now. Everything old is new again. Seriously, I’m having flashbacks to the '90s, and getting random ytalk requests from people at other colleges while I was logged into the shell checking my email in pine. ---
**Author:** ![otorophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3ab097/32.png) [@otorophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/otorophile)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/11 "2009-06-12T16:55:38Z")
Is there something like this with videochat? ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/12 "2009-06-12T17:12:23Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > They want you to speak in American Sign Language? In this case, “asl” stands for “age/sex/location”. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/13 "2009-06-12T17:22:27Z")
> [@Sternvogel](#): > > In this case, “asl” stands for “age/sex/location”. I think that was an attempt at humor. I think I’ve figured out how this is different from a chat room: everyone is Korean. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/14 "2009-06-12T17:37:24Z")
Here’s the entire conversation: You: Hi! Stranger: hi You: asl Stranger: 16/f You: 39/m Stranger: 39?! You: Ya I’m old. Stranger: Get lost pervert! Disconnected. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Eggerhaus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@Eggerhaus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eggerhaus)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/15 "2009-06-12T17:48:08Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > They want you to speak in American Sign Language? That’s what I thought. I means age/sex/location…or so I learned from a 22y/o male computer science major from Beijing who I just talked to… I bookmarked Omegle. It’s interesting…like Second Life without the GUI ---
**Author:** ![Sceadugenga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sceadugenga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sceadugenga)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/16 "2009-06-12T19:07:21Z")
> [@EpicNonsense](#): > > Stranger: Ein Volk! Ein Reich! Ein Fuhrer! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! Sieg Heil! > > It continued to repeat… > What does it mean? :dubious: “One people! One kingdom! One leader! Triumph! Triumph! Triumph!” Old Nazi propaganda. :eek: Kid probably thought that he was hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/regallag_the_axe/32/445_2.png) [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Regallag_The_Axe)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/17 "2009-06-12T19:51:06Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I think I’ve figured out how this is different from a chat room: everyone is Korean. Well I found someone from Finland. Of course, that was a short conversation. What would I have to talk about with 15 year old Finnish girl? That seems to be the problem with this thing. I mean if I strike up a conversation with someone in, say, a bookstore I can always fall back on the subject of books. Still, it is interesting. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/18 "2009-06-12T20:01:38Z")
Yeah it would be interesting if it had some sort of checklist you can fill out so it can match you with someone with similar interests. Kind of like dating sites. Of course, it would still be completely anonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/19 "2009-06-12T20:09:29Z")
Pfft. If I wanted to talk to strangers, I wouldn’t have moved to L.A. ---
**Author:** ![Panurge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/fbc32d/32.png) [@Panurge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Panurge)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537/20 "2009-06-12T21:15:10Z")
" Connecting to server… You’re now chatting with a random stranger. Say hi! Stranger: hi You: hello Stranger: from… You: … denmark. And a little bit drunk. You? Your conversational partner has disconnected." Some people… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/talking-to-a-stranger/499537.md?page=2)