Meatspace Chat
{{short description|Instant messaging software}}
{{Infobox software
| title = Meatspace Chat
| logo = Meatspace Chat Logo.png
| size =
| developer = Jen Fong-Adwent
| programming language = Node.js, HTML5
| operating system = Windows, macOS, Android, iOS
| released = May 12, 2013
| genre = Instant messaging client
}}
Meatspace Chat is a web-based online chat system created by Edna Piranha where users submit 250 character messages, combined with instantly created animated GIFs of themselves taken by a webcam.{{cite web|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/01/01/meatspace-a-world-of-animated-gifs-human-robots-and-the-ephemerality-of-snapchat-like-apps/|title=Meatspace, A World Of Animated Gifs, Human Robots And The Ephemerality Of Snapchat-Like Apps|first=Alex|last=Williams|date=January 2014}}
Overview
Meatspace differentiates itself from other chat systems by eschewing usernames, user registration and chat channels, and instead embracing ephemerality by limiting the exposure of a single message to a limited number of minutes, after which it does not appear again. Ephemeral content is an increasingly important form of Internet communication{{cite web|url=http://www.samladner.com/why-snapchat-will-grow/|title=Why Snapchat will grow - Technology, Society, Change|date=2 February 2013|publisher=|access-date=6 January 2014|archive-date=7 January 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140107010131/http://www.samladner.com/why-snapchat-will-grow/|url-status=dead}} because it allows people to communicate spontaneously, without concern for whether that communication will be recorded. This is the idea of the "Forever Internet" versus the "Erasible Internet".{{cite news|url=https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304773104579272723222788620|title=Do We Want an Erasable Internet?|first=Farhad|last=Manjoo|date=22 December 2013|newspaper=Wall Street Journal}} The Erasible Internet allows for all the interactivity, but also allows users to control and erase their content.
Technology
Meatspace uses HTML5 technologies such as WebRTC for its capture of user videos and an animated GIF library by Sole Penadés{{cite web |url=http://betasitesgalore.net/2013/12/11/the-side-projects-of-mozillians-jsfiddle-and-meatspac-es/ |title=The Side Projects of Mozillians: JSFiddle and Meatspac.es | Beta Sites Galore |accessdate=2014-01-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108235233/http://betasitesgalore.net/2013/12/11/the-side-projects-of-mozillians-jsfiddle-and-meatspac-es/ |archivedate=2014-01-08}} for its client, and Node.js for its server.
Meatspace is open-source,{{cite web|url=https://github.com/meatspaces|title=meatspaces|website=GitHub|publisher=}} available in a number of versions that use different database backends. There are also a number of third-party interfaces to Meatspace for providing mobile versions for Android{{cite web |url=https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.romainpiel.meatspace |title=Meatspace Beta - Android Apps on Google Play |website=play.google.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131221185400/https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.romainpiel.meatspace |archive-date=2013-12-21}} and iOS,{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meatchat/id765258584|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140521205030/https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meatchat/id765258584|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 21, 2014|title=MeatChat on the App Store|website=iTunes|publisher=}} as well as bot that responds to commands.{{cite web|url=https://github.com/meatspaces/meatspace-chat-hackers|title=meatspaces/meatspace-chat-hackers|website=GitHub|date=7 June 2016|publisher=}}
People can host their own meatspace chat server, or use one of a number of public servers. There is a public server at [https://chat.meatspac.es chat.meatspac.es], which is used by Web Developers such as Paul Irish and Tom Dale.{{cite web|url=https://digitalocean.com/blog_posts/topdrop-of-the-month-meatspace|title=TopDrop Of The Month: Meatspace|publisher=|access-date=2014-01-04|archive-date=2014-01-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140122223310/https://www.digitalocean.com/blog_posts/topdrop-of-the-month-meatspace|url-status=dead}} Writer and Internet technology professor Clay Shirky has stated that Meatspace Chat "feels like Old Internet, Weird in a good way, good in a weird way".{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/cshirky/status/402871418368430080|title=Clay Shirky on Twitter|publisher=}}