Want to lift the spirits of a person under quarantine?

[herding cats]

Or, if you're under quarantine help be distracted?

Link to tweet

How it works.
Once you sign up, you'll be subscribed to periodic calls. Your caller ID will always say "QuarantineChat" when your phone rings.
After a brief moment on hold, you'll match with another random person. You don't have to pick up if you're busy—your partner will be automatically matched with someone else. And you can join and leave the line whenever you'd like.
It's private. You use your phone number to sign up for Dialup, but your matches will only ever see your username.

https://quarantinechat.com/

Note:
I haven't tried this, I don't know if it works well, or not, but it seems like a nice thought if we do end up with several people isolated who might not have an extensive network of social contacts.

[tanyev]

1. Wow, I'm always struck by the great extrovert/introvert divide.

Last edited Thu Mar 5, 2020, 09:03 AM - Edit history (1)

I don’t want to have reason to be quarantined, but if it happens, two weeks at home reading, watching tv, and not interacting with anyone sounds wonderful. Chats with random strangers don't appeal to me at all.

[herding cats]

2. I'm in your camp!

Give me peace and quiet and a good book. It's sounds like a divine staycation to me.

But, I understand for some people their daily ventures to do chores is actually a much needed venue for social interaction. Which is why I shared this here. A lot of DUers strike me as social extroverts and I thought they might be interested.

[Backseat Driver]

3. Blows my mind - like anonymously surfin' Skype's directory?

I'm sort of chuckling just imagining a conversation: Hi - can you talk now? How you doing? What are you doing? You know, the best thing I ever overheard in the grocery line was a parent's answer to their child. It went something along the line of: Well, dear, some people are lucky and some aren't."

Get we get a widget "connection" on the page and do some campaigning chats, hahaha! Oh yeah, sounds as much fun as a toothache, privacy notwithstanding over Pine Gap's chatter-gatherer.

Yet, it's a kindness, I suppose, to think of them being alone, perhaps frightened, but what if a "quarantined" signs up and sits by their phone that never rings...

[herding cats]

6. It's peculiar to be sure.

I'm not overly extroverted, so it seems extremely awkward to me. However, I can imagine being isolated and suddenly cut off from your daily contacts. A random stranger isn't that different than the person at the cafe, or a cashier some people chat up daily.

Some people are more lonely than others and need more human contact. In that respect it is a human kindness I'd suppose? You make a good point, though. Imagine being an isolated person without close friends or family and no one ever contacts you after you reach out? That would be a truly depressing scenario.

[Frasier Balzov]

4. What are you wearing?

[orleans]

5. "khakis"

[herding cats]

7. Vick's vapo-rub and Kleenex up my nose?

How about you?