Try it: https://awaymessenger.app/?ref=reddit-sideproject I was having major nostalgia for my teen years, so I rebuilt that world: a Win98/XP-style desktop with a Buddy List, away messages, dial-up, Solitaire, Mines, Paint and a Media Player. You pick crews: emo kids, boy band fan club, pop girls, gamers, Chicago and Boston sports, teen drama TV and more. When you join, it's 2004 for them, and their time moves forward with yours: a week later for you is a week later for them. They're not assistants, either. Ask one to write your essay and you'll get "lol no". What's in it: - 8 crews for now, 40 buddies, each with a job, a hometown and running jokes - They remember what you tell them and follow up ("how was the first day at the movie theater??") - Word gets around: tell one buddy something and their crew hears about it ("dani told me saturday was ur first day"). Ask them to keep a secret and they mostly will - Each crew has a story running in six-week seasons, and you're in the middle of it - Buddy journals: everyone keeps an online journal, with about one new entry a week as their story plays out - They IM you first, set their own away messages, and live on the real calendar with their hometown's seasons and weather My favorite way to use it: leave it open while you work with the Focus Timer and some music on, and every so often someone pings you. The hard part was keeping them in their era: no "lowkey", no "it's mid", taking a side and sticking to it. I built an eval that chats with all 40 buddies to catch slips. There's also a free away-message maker at awaymessenger.app/away-messages. No subscriptions, and one crew is free to try. Which crew would you pick, and what feels off?   submitted by   /u/tykurez [link]   [comments]