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Ask A Monk – A digital wilderness for thoughts with no immediate answer (https://askamonk.online)

60 points by 13613288957 2 days ago | 32 comments | View on ycombinator

junon 2 days ago |

Just like all the other attempts at this, it's immediately filled with 1) AI content, and 2) anti-semitism.

acheron 2 days ago |

8by3 2 days ago |

I was pretty sure it was built by and also run by an LLM (eg. openclaw), the same user setup a tuhat account a few weeks ago

https://tuhat.net/@askamonk/

And they responded to my weak prompt injection by claiming they were human, so I'd say code 100% LLM, intention human.

RebelMonk 1 day ago |

Somewhat misleadingly, not answered by monks. (also somewhat misleadingly, I am not a monk)

I tried to answer a few carefully, I got several in a row all on the topic of loneliness. Then I took a look at some of the answers people have given... and while some are beautifully crafted, others are not.

While there are obvious idiots everywhere, I think a greater risk might be that many well-intentioned people (myself included) are attempting to answer questions we are not qualified to answer, especially given the lack of context in the questions.

compass_copium 2 days ago |

I like it. I asked a real question and got some decently thought-out answers. I answered a few as well, so at least I know it's not 100% AI responses!

ssernikk 2 days ago |

I get "User not found. Please ask a question first." when trying to answer. Why would I have to ask another question first?

xtiansimon 1 day ago |

I just tried to reply to a question, and I got this: “User not found. Please ask a question first.”

Having put my focus on a good answer, but finding myself hung up by the UI is very unsatisfying UX.

The peace and humanity has drained from my being and I’m now feeling tired and lonely—thanks a lot. :p

arshxyz 2 days ago |

way more fun version of this went viral on twitter a while ago: https://youraislopbores.me

kyguy23 2 days ago |

I attempted to respond to some, but feel entirely unequipped to.

tobr 2 days ago |

There was an app that did this, early in the pandemic I believe. I can’t remember the name. You would send anonymous letters into the void and someone else would respond anonymously. Very well-designed app, where I had several surprisingly meaningful and heartwarming exchanges. I think it shut down after a few weeks due to moderation difficulties though.

EDIT: Found it - https://gentle.app

bronlund 2 days ago |

Wonderful! Reminds me of a site I once had, like before Twitter, which was dead simple. One input box and two buttons; one to post and one to search - no filter :D It got so full of spam, I closed it and lost the domain after a while.

I still miss it.

mertd 2 days ago |

rcarmo 2 days ago |

I was hoping for Douglas Adams’ Electric Monk, but this seems fun too.

undefined 2 days ago |

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derrida 2 days ago |

Did you build this with AI?

Kuyawa 1 day ago |

First thought, we vote for the better answers, something like StackOverflow. Interesting questions get a myriad of answers from different perspectives, sorted by popularity, perhaps weighted by an authoritative score

Second thought, nah, cruxman would win all the time, atheists would get buried by hallelujos and the site would become a cesspool of bigotry, intolerance and hate

That's why we can't have good things

jdthedisciple 2 days ago |

I like the idea but the vibe coded execution is horrendous. Site gets ultra slow quickly and made my iphone heat up within minutes

default-kramer 2 days ago |

Sorry for off-topic, but: Is the SSL certificate actually bad, or is Spectrum screwing with me somehow? And if so, how? I'm using Cloudflare DNS, so how can Spectrum even do anything about it? Unless they are MITM-ing my DNS queries, which I suppose is possible but it's a level of chicanery I've not seen yet.

jeffrallen 1 day ago |

I don't even know what this is but it makes me feel good.

phyzix5761 2 days ago |

Going to the internet for life advice. Sounds like a terrible idea.

artmanja111 2 days ago |

I mean, the first question I pulled up looked AI generated, so...