Help Me Distract My Sad Sorry Self.

January 10, 2010 5:50 PM

I need to find an online chat/distraction that is fun and smart and not sexual.

I'm recently separated (4 months) and I would like to find some fun, intelligent chat to distract my sometimes troubled and sad brain.
Farmville ain't cutting it.
I'm not depressed--I just get these futile loops of thinking that I need to disrupt. I have plenty of friends to talk to and they have been a great help and support--but I need something new now.
Chatting with real people would be great. But again, non sexual.
Thanks!

posted by Toto_tot to Human Relations (17 answers total)

There is a MeFi IRC channel (link goes to wiki), although I've no personal experience with it.
posted by fairytale of los angeles at 5:57 PM on January 10, 2010

Seconding MeFi IRC (though I haven't been in awhile). Moreso, I would suggest #bunnies, which is populated by the denizens of MetaChat, of which the folks are typically current or former Mefites. It tends to be more lighthearted than #mefi.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 6:09 PM on January 10, 2010

There's a Metachat IRC channel, too. I think it's #bunnies.
posted by amro at 6:09 PM on January 10, 2010

It's POSSIBLE to find such a thing in Second Life, but you're going to have to wade through a lot of childish crap and people trying to have sex with you to get it. But, it's out there.
posted by davejay at 6:33 PM on January 10, 2010

I should have quoted "have sex" up there. YOu get the idea.
posted by davejay at 6:33 PM on January 10, 2010

www.chatroullette.com for random, anonymous chats.

Just hit "Next" when you get a guy masturbating.
posted by davey_darling at 6:56 PM on January 10, 2010

Omegle offers something like what you're looking for, too, basically endlessly revolving anonymous text-based chats with people who may or may not be intelligent. Same deal as Chat Roulette (one L), but without the webcam/microphone.
posted by limeonaire at 7:06 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

I just tried Chat Roulette and have to warn you: there's a LOT of guys masturbating. And half the people not masturbating called me a fag when they saw my frog puppet. Lame.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 7:15 PM on January 10, 2010 [1 favorite]

Come to #bunnies! We are friendly folk. Usually. And don't bite... Hard.
posted by jonathanstrange at 9:50 PM on January 10, 2010

If you're into trivia then #trivialoft on the ausnet irc server, which admittedly does contain a lot of profanity and silliness, also offers you a fun game to play.

When there's talk about interesting/fun things in amongst the questions you'd be more than welcome to join in. If you just want to do the trivia side of things, then that's perfectly fine too. People who come to the channel looking for a wank are pretty quickly mocked and sent away. (I'm just an ex-regular, not a shill).

I've found it difficult to find a good chat site with interesting people who aren't just looking for goddamn cyberseXXXing shite (apart from the place I mentioned) so I'll be following this.

If you're not familiar with irc, here's a link to a popular irc client and here's another link to wikipedia which explains what irc actually is.
posted by h00py at 2:54 AM on January 11, 2010

It may seem an unlikely source of intelligent chat, but Yahoo Chat's "Trivia Madness" room is where I met my girlfriend and there are looooooooads of smart, interesting people there. The only downside is that it's not really that active 24/7....tends to pick up in the evening and late night in the US. Lots of intelligent sidechat while trivia is being played (just be the first acknowledged person to answer a question to be the next asker, who must type his/her question in caps. Simple!)
posted by mreleganza at 3:19 AM on January 11, 2010

If you've tried the FarmVille angle, then perhaps Yahoo games or somesuch. They have chat windows while you play, I've had the oddest (read: awesome) conversations with e.g. 80 year olds from Malaysia.

Last.fm etc are good if you're into your music, you can friend people who play the same tracks as you.

This is going back a bit, but it used to be that in your p2p client you could private message people who were downloading from your fileshares. I had a great series of conversations with some mad guy from Brazil via this.

4chan boards can be good, believe it or not. anonymity has its plusses. I spent alot of time here after a breakup.

As above, IRC is also good, its just a matter of finding the right channel and avoiding the noise.
posted by kumara at 7:19 AM on January 11, 2010

Kingdom of Loathing. It's an awesome text-based role playing game with a fairly primitive chat system. However, the people who participate in the chat system tend to be pretty diverse, intelligent, and awesome. I've met people from places like Poland, Australia, Chile, and California. We've talked about visiting Machu Picchu, presidential elections, what makes a taco a taco, Rick Astley, gender, and Harry Potter. It's a great place to hang out and I know some people who "play" the game, just to chat. Word of warning: /newbie, the chat room people start out in, is pretty much a mixture of awesome people and confused 12 year olds. I like /hardcore chat, but you have to play a bit to get you there. If this free game sounds interesting to you, memail me and I can help you get started.
posted by Night_owl at 8:12 AM on January 11, 2010

I met a lot of good friends via Second Life, and it might interest you in other ways, too. I was initially fascinated by the 3D building and scripting element. Others seem to love the "virtual Barbie" dress up and shopping thing, the live music gigs, or the educational lectures you can attend. But in the end, most people just like to chat, and it's just a matter of finding a group you are compatible with.

You will run into people who are just looking for sex or cyber, but you can easily just walk away.

There's a rather diverse mix of people using it. The average user is 30-something, and female, so it's not completely full of horny teenagers (but of course, they are there).

I haven't touched it in about a year, mainly due to technical problems, (I do still keep in contact with the good friends I made via email, FB, etc) but, if you want a "guide" to help you get started, let me know.
posted by Diag at 9:17 AM on January 11, 2010

http://www.cleverbot.com/
posted by Jacqueline at 1:12 PM on January 11, 2010

This is going back a bit, but it used to be that in your p2p client you could private message people who were downloading from your fileshares.

Yeah, actually, I remember having some good conversations that way in Soulseek, which still has a huge set of chatrooms themed around hundreds of different musical subgenres. The chatrooms for regional specialties—Japanese pop, Thai folk, etc.—are always a good way to get music recommendations and some interesting conversation.
posted by limeonaire at 5:40 AM on January 12, 2010

I too recommend Second Life, if you have a computer that can handle it. It has a learning curve, but it's fun if you're persistent, and if you take the time to *look* for things that interest you. Just like IRL, there are stupid people and ridiculousness. Unlike RL, you can fly away, block people, and search for groups and people that suit you. Just like real life, clubs are full of people who have nothing to say. But *some clubs* have people who've become fast friends.
posted by RedEmma at 3:46 PM on January 12, 2010