Alex6d ago

Is it actually healthy for people to have a place to confess things anonymously?

https://lemmy.world/post/44304402

Is it actually healthy for people to have a place to confess things anonymously? - Lemmy.World

Serious question. Most people carry things they never tell anyone. Not illegal things. Just thoughts that would damage relationships or reputations if they were said out loud. Regret about past decisions. Things people hide from partners. Thoughts about friends or family they would never admit publicly. Therapists exist for a reason, but most people never go to one. So I was wondering something. Would it actually be healthier if people had a place to post these thoughts completely anonymously? No identity. No profile. Just the confession. I’m building a small experiment called Backroom around this idea where people can post one-line anonymous secrets. But I’m honestly curious if people would actually use something like that or if most secrets are better left unsaid.

Show threadRoidingOldMan6d ago
The Catholics have had that for thousands of years. So maybe there is something to it.
Show threadAlex6d ago

That’s actually a really good point.

Confession probably worked for centuries because people needed a place to say things they couldn’t say anywhere else.

Backroom is basically trying to recreate that idea, just anonymously and without religion.

Show threadnomad6d ago
The church invented that to control the secrets in any congregation. So yeah, bad thing. Backroom sounds like a fun idea. How would you ensure peoples anonymity and privacy? How would you fund this?
Show threadAlex6d ago

Good question.

The idea is basically to remove identity completely. No accounts required to read. Posting is session based and nothing links back to a person. Even chats auto-delete after 24h.

The goal is that the secret is the only thing that exists. Not the person behind it.

Funding later would probably come from hosts running rooms people pay a small amount to enter. But right now it’s just an experiment to see if people actually want a place like this.

Show threadRoidingOldMan6d ago
What would stop it from becoming 4chan?
Show threadAlex6d ago

Fair concern.

4chan is anonymous but completely unstructured.

Backroom is built around hosts running rooms with their own rules. If a room becomes toxic, people simply stop entering it.

So moderation happens at the room level, not through identity.

Show threadVenator6d ago
Moderation kinda depends on identity, as the trolls who want every room to be toxic will enter every room and make sure it’s toxic if there’s no identification.
Show threadAlex

That’s a fair point.

The idea isn’t that anonymity magically solves trolling. It’s more that rooms create friction. If a host bans someone or locks access, that person doesn’t automatically get the same reach everywhere else.

In big anonymous feeds the trolls and normal users share the exact same space. Rooms try to break that dynamic a bit.

It probably won’t eliminate toxicity, but the hope is it localizes it.

Mar 16 at 1:24amWeb
Show threadApathy Tree6d ago

If it’s using an expiring session-based anonymous “account” for interactions, how would you ban someone? Or allow rooms to be restricted, for that matter?

Like I like the idea, I just don’t understand how both things can be true.

Show threadAlex6d ago

Good question.

The sessions are temporary but not instantly disposable. A host can still block a session from a room, and rooms can require approval to enter.

So the anonymity is mostly between users. Hosts still have basic control over who can participate in their space.

Show threadApathy Tree6d ago
Sure, but if nobody knows who anyone is, how do you know who to let in?
Show threadAlex6d ago

Hosts usually don’t decide based on identity.

Most rooms are just open and moderated through behavior. If someone posts things that break the rules the host can block that session from the room.

Restricted rooms are more like small spaces where the host simply decides who gets the link or approval to enter. The idea is control over the room not control over who someone is.