Did hallways full of students and teachers run into bathroom stalls every minute to check the latest messages?

Gee, I don't see why people are so freaked out by this gatling gun I'm carrying. It's basically a fancier sling to throw things at people.

Most people go to the bathroom at least once a day.

It's obligatory.

Checking something someone told you about on the smartphone not so much. (Unless you are in high school... then the reverse:)

People go to the bathroom to relieve themselves, people use Yik Yak to be entertained[1] by the hurtful gossip people have to say about one another. When I go to a urinal I'm not scanning the walls for slander, and any slander that's there isn't instantly accessible anywhere on campus.

[1] Obviously some users check Yik Yak to see what's being said about them, teachers may check it to be aware of what students are being targeted, etc.

It is novel partially because the medium is different. The difference in medium isn't irrelevant.

No, the medium is incredibly relevant.

The "FaceBook" existed in Harvard before facebook.com...in other places, it was called "MeetBook" (check out this reference in a 1997 episode of This American Life http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/66/tr...)...but the way Facebook.com facilitates interactions, even in its early college-only days was a real game changer because of the medium, even though it emulated a function of an existing print product.

The speed, permanence, and visibility of Net communication is very much a different game.

The speed might be different but slander and gossip on a smartphone is still.... just slander and gossip.

> written on bathroom walls

I don't know where you went to school, but I certainly didn't see up-to-date gossip on hundreds of students plastered to the bathroom walls.

> passed around in notes

Notes can be viewed by one person at a time and can be entirely removed by a single person.

People have always been mean, but now people can be mean very efficiently.

you must be much younger or have gone to a better school...

people have been mean on the internet for quite some time now.

I predict the ease of meanness will make more of it... so much in fact it becomes diluted.

True, but you didn't see every bathroom wall, or the contents of every note at the same time.

This sort of app would be much more effective at school-wide dissemination of gossip.

yes, for those who looked for it...

(which, if I remember high school correctly, would probably be just about everyone....so you may have a point).

It does seem though that the novelty would wear off after a bit as the deluge of unsubstantiated (and likely repetitive) gossip got less interesting. A flood of information is almost as good as no information for getting people not to pay attention in my experience.

Well, the medium is realtime, so that profoundly changes the kinds of conversations that can be had. I agree with you in principle though, it will blow over after a few months when all the kids have unloaded all their catishness. In the end they will learn a lesson early: nobody wins when everybody is being an asshole.

One more point for all arguing "game changer!"...

When someone was on the bathroom wall it was one person or two people... everyone saw it.

You can bet almost everyone noticeable in school will wind up on this thing at some point. Hurt feelings? Sure. But at least you won't be alone:)

And no one was stupid enough to put their real telephone number (or IP address) down when they wrote it.

Bullshit. The dose always makes the poison.

In this case a flood is likely to soon be taken less seriously in my opinion. If anyone even still thinks it's cool or checkworthy in 6 months.

That may be your opinion, but humans don't work like that.

It's a question of which human folly you magnify with your technology. Whether it dies out quickly does not matter once the damage is done.

Also - keep in mind that what you dismiss as a flood could be mistaken for popular opinion by others.

that may be "my opinion" but you know how humans work? seriously?

I predict this thing will die of boredom before long. There will simply be too much junk on it.

What is it with HN lately?

Anyone makes a post and 17 people feel obligated to argue... even if the point is irrelevant. Very seldom do they even bother to stick around to back up their arguments.

Now, I know everyone wants to appear smart... but really... this is getting kind of silly.

> What is it with HN lately?

> Anyone makes a post and 17 people feel obligated to argue

"Forget it, Jake. It's Hacker News."