---
title: About ondiscute
description: Nobody knows who switched ondiscute on. A network of free live chat salons, open to everyone, guarded by a :O) smiley that never sleeps.
url: https://ondiscute.com/en/about
language: en
---

# About ondiscute

Nobody really knows who switched ondiscute on. All we know is that it never quite switched off.

## The legend

They say that at the turn of the millennium, somewhere between two singing modems, a smiley — **:O)** — opened its eyes. It didn't speak. It listened. Thousands of voices crossed in "salons" that appeared the moment someone named them, and vanished when the last visitor left. The elders call it *the Yellow Age*. Then came the great silence. Some say the smiley was asleep. Others say it was waiting.

It wasn't asleep.

## What they won't tell you

-  **The Chatter Engine.** Every salon runs on a short-memory conversation crystal: it forgets whatever no longer matters, but never forgets an insult — which is instantly transmuted into a *funny word* by a protocol we are not cleared to describe.
-  **The 📵 Veil.** Type a phone number or an email address: it evaporates before reaching the other side. Nobody knows where it goes. Neither do we. That's the point.
-  **The 🆘 Button.** A direct line to guardians who never sleep. One press, and whoever bothers you becomes invisible — even if they change face, nickname or planet.
-  **The Window Network.** Every salon opens in its own window, just like before. Coincidence? The initiated know the windows talk to each other.
-  **The Parallel Channel.** The oldest rituals still travel through `irc.ondiscute.com`. The same salons, seen from the other side of the mirror.

## The rules of the game

ondiscute is free, no sign-up required, ad-free and open to everyone — that part is no mystery. One law rules every world: [the code of conduct](https://ondiscute.com/en/charter). Those who break it are sent into the void for an undisclosed period.

## File (partially declassified)

**Nature**

A network of live chat salons

**Origin**

Unknown. The records mention "the year 2000".

**Access**

Open. A nickname is enough.

**Cost**

Zero. Don't ask how.

**Languages detected**

French, English (other signals under study)

**Status**

Awake.

[Enter a salon :O)](https://ondiscute.com/en/salons)