How it works
Three steps, and the first one takes ten seconds.
Pick a nickname and your city
That is your station on the globe. No sign-up form, and please do not use your real name.
Find a campfire, or light your own
Browse fires near you, the busiest ones, the ones about to burn out, or by topic such as Food, Football or Study.
Write a postcard
It flies from your city to the city where the fire burns, and everyone sitting there can read it.
About campfires
A campfire is a chat room with a life span. Nothing here lasts forever, and that is the point.
Every fire burns out
You choose 1 to 24 hours when you light it. When the time is up, the room and every postcard in it are deleted.
Add a log
Anyone sitting at a fire can add a log for one more hour, up to 24 hours in total.
Thirty seats
A fire holds 30 people, so conversations stay human. If one is full, light another nearby.
Listed, or by code
List your fire for everyone, or keep it off the list and share a code like fire-AB12 with friends.
Postcards and stamps
Every message is a postcard, and each one shows the path it flew. The path crosses cities where other people are awake right now, so a busy world gives short, direct flights and a sleepy one sends your postcard the long way round.
- Stamps are the short codes on each postcard, one per city on its path. Tap a stamp to see the full city name.
- The relay steps in when no chain of awake cities reaches the fire. You will see a RELAY stamp.
- Over your city counts postcards whose path crossed your city while you were online.
- The little globe floats over the chat. Drag it anywhere, or tap it to watch a postcard travel.
The angel keeps it civil
Every postcard is checked before anyone else sees it.
- Rude words are replaced with stars.
- Phone numbers and email addresses are starred, because the room is public.
- Anyone can report a postcard. Enough reports remove it.
- Sexual, violent, hateful or extremist content is stopped and never delivered.
- Links are not allowed.
- A stopped postcard costs the fire two minutes, and repeat offenders are blocked.
Please know this before you start
Nothing here is private. Everyone at a campfire can read everything written there. There are no private messages, no photos and no videos. This place is for adults aged 18 and over.
Install it as an app
It works in the browser, and it is nicer on your home screen. There is nothing to download from a store.
Android
Open the app in Chrome, tap the menu, then Install app or Add to Home screen.
iPhone and iPad
Open the app in Safari, tap the Share button, then Add to Home Screen.
Computer
In Chrome or Edge, click the install icon at the right of the address bar.