What are /r/SLOWLYapp's favorite Products & Services?

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

>So he had Bluestacks installed on his computer, and he attended to all Slowly letters through that.

Using an Android virtual machine is one way to go, yes -- I used BlueStacks for months as you described, with Slowly Android app running happily and supporting Tablet mode even.

Full screen display and a full real keyaboard - and this happened MONTHS before the official Slowly Web client debuted in mid September, 2019.

The Very BEST Android virtual machine currently (which I do use for testing purposes) is not BlueStacks (still excellent, but a heavier resource user) but one called MEmu -- https://www.memuplay.com .

This is a much lighter resource user, and DOES support Tablet mode as well (which Nox Player, another alternative, in my experience does not - Slowly switches to the dreaded Phone display mode when it loads; somehow it detects an emulated environment).

Hi! You might like this app then :) Check Irregular Expressions out. It's for android users only though. I use it for all my markup needs. Switching between keyboards is fast, so it's not a hassle to use.

MasterClass.com comes with some really good online classes. I am currently attending the James Patterson's one and I am enjoying it so far.

https://www.masterclass.com/classes/james-patterson-teaches-writing

Warning: They buy A LOT of ads across different platforms. Recommend to browse the link via Incognito mode.

> Question here is, do older letters get deleted with time? I like having a complete archive of the history of letters sent.

Not at this point, as long as your account is active and in good standing, all your letters are stored, indefinitely. (the real problem really is the images, the attachments we send to some of our penpals. Any photo will take 10 times the storage space required by a letter, easily.)

However -- the <strong>Terms of Service</strong> page has some alarming wording about 'no guarantees on how much we will store, or for how long'. (my plain English translation of the verbose legalese in the original).

** From the Terms of Service, Section "2. Conduct on Slowly" :

>We may establish general practices and limits concerning use of SLOWLY, including without limitation the number of days that we retain Content, the number and size of posts and messages you may send or receive, and the space we allot on our servers for your use. We have no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications or other Content. We may terminate accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time.

An un-official web client for Slowly does exist, which has some nice added features. Including the option to Export ALL letters between you and a pen pal, which can be downloaded as a plain text file.

This full backup is a sorely missing feature on Slowly, which I hope someday we could have.

Being un-official, not company provided, Slowly warns users of the risks involved in using this software. If you are willing to accept the risks, for the benefit of the backup (and the nice full stats), you are free to proceed at your own risk.

Details about the <strong>Paradox Client</strong> here.

LOL, that didn't take long. :P

Thanks for the direct question, and bear with me as I need to explain some things as part of my reply.

In a nutshell, yes, if you have a vpn service and know how to use it, it does work. I did not include it on the guide above for a good reason -- the same one why you don't see people talking about it openly here in general.

Changing locations could be seen as detrimental to the company (and it is, as they lose 50 cents for each stamp you acquire that way - and the loss can add up). So, there's a general concern that this could be seen as a violation of Terms of Service.

That is a big booboo -- as the <strong>Terms of Service for Slowly</strong> app is long, and detailed, and written by their own lawyers in language that clearly favours the company.

If someone irks a company, it can resort to the Terms of Service violation and terminate the user's account. We lose a lot -- all your contacts, all your letters, all the stamps. It's pretty scary.

A partial quote from Section 9 - Availability of Service :

> We may without prior warning or subsequent notice terminate your account and access to SLOWLY for any or no reason. We may decide to terminate your account for a number of different reasons ... (continues on to enumerating some clauses)

I am being completely honest here, the best is not to discuss this in public, knowing the consequences could be harsh. Not that I have heard of it happening, so far, but the potential is there.

Slowly Communications is a small company, employs a few talented people, and we absolutely NEED them to stay solvent, to stay funded, so the service can continue.

That makes sense -- Although you could also consider setting up a small image gallery in a un-advertised web site. A Blog page would work, or an account at one of the image sharing places.

That could save you image Quota as well - Slowly only allows 10 images for every 12 hour cycle. But I understand, and the choice is yours.

Maybe use a PixelFed account ? it is not under corporate control, and no one will try to steal your content and use it under they own hard cooked terms of usage (Instagram for example, is ridiculous -- why agree to that ?)

Pixelfed : https://pixelfed.org/

Well done, invmatrix. :)

50 Thousand characters is a huge hefty text block, and in truth I have seen other people reporting slugish keyboard with much smaller, more normal letter sizes.

I imagine it could depend on what keyboard is in use as well, which people should include in their report (or they might be to clarify).

The Gboard (keyboard from Google Inc.) is a heavy, bloated tool in my experience. I use 3 languages and with Gboard and the languages loaded it got very iffy.

Switched to Microsoft's <strong>SwiftKey</strong>, a free Android keyboard, and found it much lighter and never looked back.

On the contrary, I caution people about the bloated-ness of <strong>Gboard</strong> (similar to the equally demanding Google Chrome browser - another one I won't touch).

If the ISP is government owned, you should buy a VPN service and VPN to the location that you want. That'll give you an IP that belongs to a given country, and it'll make it so your traffic is 100% encrypted, so nobody can snoop on it.

I've used surfshark, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access, and they've all been great. Just pick whatever is cheapest or is running the best sale.

> postcrossing

"Postfun" - exchange postcards around the world

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ostasoft.postfun

10K+

Downloads

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1397899662

>Not sure what keyboard app you are using

That is a good point - the very common Google Keboard, aka Gboard, is a resource hog in my opinion, and best to be avoided.

The OP could try replacing it with the <strong>Swift keyboard</strong> for a test, and turning off some features is an excellent suggestion as well.

You are very welcome.

And the hard push to start and build a user base happens with all kinds of messaging apps - they are not too useful unless you have contacts using them as well.

Some of these Slowly alternatives in the Play market I mentioned look remarkably similar to Slowly, and have been in development for a while, the the official app has a big head start. Example - <strong>Lettly</strong>

Hello, and thank you for posting this update.

It seems the local Indian federal government has determined that Slowly is a site deserving to be blocked - and not much you as a user can do.

We can communicate that to Slowly team, you could write to them at Suppport AT getslowly DOT com , and explain, include a copy of your screenshot.

From that point, they would need to appeal this decision with the Indian authorities.

In the mean time, a VPN would be a way to by-pass the blockage. I would suggest the Proton VPN service, which has a wonderful free user account that you can use without monthly dues. This product is limited to 3 VPN server locations only but it works well, is a respectable company (a lot of shady operators out there in this field). Plus, it's FREE and reliable.

Good luck! 🙂

> It's so irritating that Slowly team just decided out of the blue that let's mess with this feature.

Ah, I hear you, and can relate.

There is a way around this -- if you are using Android. (iOS users are screwed by Apple's heavy hand controlling their apps).

Android users can easily install older versions - for whichever reasons they feel they are better. I posted a detailed topic here in the sub about it, and DO use an older version as it's my favourite one.

For speed and stability, imo, it cannot be beaten. I try out the newer ones, occasionally, but my main mobile devices are on Slowly v.5.2.21 Android.

Getting the older versions is easy, use APKpure.com, search for 'Slowly' and open the app page there. Select Release History and pick whichever version you prefer; maybe roll back to a recent previous version if you liked it.

This is done after uninstalling the current version you have. No worries -- all your letters are safe as they are saved in the Slowly servers, always.

Got the file, downloaded it? Now install it.

You will be greeted as a new user. Just enter your email or other access method you do use, and it will validate it, then let you in.

You MUST disable Apps updating in Google Play if you choose to use this method and older versions - - otherwise it WILL 'upgrade you' to an un-desirable version.

Enjoy your favoured version! ❤🤗😜👍🌟

Notepad++ is a good alternative too. I have it installed but never took to it as well - EditPad Lite felt more like home.

I would think it sits somewhere between EditPad and VS Code - which is really powerful and mind blowing with expansions and plugins, languages supported.

<strong>Notepad++</strong> gets many recommendations from users in the Net, so it is a good option as well. I will add an edit with link to it, thank you... 😉👍🙂

https://www.buymeacoffee.com/slowly If you like the app, please consider buying us a coffee ( or 2 ). Thank you for your support! *Please leave us your nickname or the email you used to register. We'll send you a stamp to show our gratitude.

Ah, obrigado! :) Vou procurar depois na Wikipedia em Português, é possivel que confirme.

Edit : Linguee agrees and mentions 'perereca'. Wikipedia em Português tem pagina bem sumária e chama de rã de olhos vermelhos.

>Those are some expressions I can remember for now!

That is an excellent collection -- both the sayings and the explanations. Like they would say in Portugal, é muito Gira! :)

** Gira : a Portugues slang word, meaning 'cool', but without the affectation of that word. Maybe 'cute' as well, although neither word captures the essence well. A web reference page for 'muito gira!'

>That sounds so romantic bro

LOL, it was really nice, but a platonic relationship. She's married, but we had a good correspondence.

You can <strong>read that letter</strong>, with images and links added, here.

Just a general Heads Up -- please don't talk about and recommend vpn usage for Slowly (unless for very specific needs).

Reason being, it's seen as a violation of the <strong>Terms of Service</strong> for the app, which are quite harsh and one sided, having been written by lawyers hired by the company.

You don't see me commenting or recommending it for a reason. A high official in the company told me privately that they consider it can be Fraudulent use (if done with the intention of acquiring foreign stamps for free, which means an actual loss of half a Dollar per stamp so acquired; if compared to it being obtained via World Explorer).

Account termination could result in some cases, at the company's discretion.

From the TOS, 9. Availability of Service :

> We may without prior warning or subsequent notice terminate your account and access to SLOWLY for any or no reason. We may decide to terminate your account for a number of different reasons, including without limitation:

you are very welcome.

I am thinking of asking Slowly Team if they would like to add links to the Wiki pages into their existing Full list of World Explorer stamps.

Then anyone browsing the list would be one click away from finding a nice info page for any of the stamps depicted.

>It's high time we opened the market here.

<strong>Terms of Service</strong> would squash that in no time...

Better not try, or not in a public place at least.

Section 2, Use of Slowly

> YOU SHOULD:
>
>* use SLOWLY for your personal use only and you may not use it for any other purpose.

E.g., selling an account is not acceptable, imo.

> Is it possible to have more than 30 selected topics?

No - see https://www.getslowly.com/en/release-notes/

> vers 2.2.2

> Interested Topics now limited to 30.

.

> 45 topics - is it some kind of cheat/scam?

Very old account may be? Before 2.2.2 e.g.

Cheat possible also - see https://old.reddit.com/r/SLOWLYapp/comments/herr4b

>And I would like to recommend this story to you:
>
>https://www.getslowly.com/en/story/lunogi/

And that was an excellent suggestion -- right on for the OP. Cheers and thanks for highlighting it!

> They have this option of searching for Fresh Meat, or New Members only.

So I don't get it: clearly increasing the danger to newcomers, increasing limits for spammers...

And about personal Slowly IDs in public Forums:

the coffee glory page has not only names or internal nicknames, but also explicitly external nicknames - probably from Twitter, but I haven't checked yet.

And one nickname meets there twice - they do not add with their hands, and the machine works without checking takes?

https://www.getslowly.com/en/credits/

@trexyq = TWICE

@temorel

@jocims

@s246

@yulia_damayanti

@ellztan

@b.echelmeier

@Sellygirl

@sowletters

@sch2k3r

@scottsummer_s

@mohawahba

@yuckycrumpet

@didicf

@notjobina

@idusdemarta

@_racheLp

@dyani

@SebekAlexman

Does it only work if the original story is not written in English? I just saw this story and they're requesting for translation help at the bottom of the page.

Bazil was joking about the flare I currently use here (showing "Writer's Guild"), but he was very kind of pointing you to a great idea and a relevant topic to guide you.

Slowly Stories is great for new users and old. We share experiences and people learn about what can happen in the app environment even before they download it or create an account.

My own contribution was accepted, published on Christmas morning to my joy, and later received an Editor's Choice award which is quite wonderful.

I am so sorry that you had this disappointing experience. This guy is a jerk indeed, like other people already pointed.

Don't despair, please don't -- there's a lot of nice people here, there's some who are not worth the stamp for a letter, and there's this, the Ugliest ever, specially since it was your first letter.

It could easily make people abandon the app, but don't give up. I have a long letter that I really enjoyed writing, and even sent in to Slowly Stories, who also liked and published it.

Take a look and I hope it will show you there are good people and it's worth persevering.

https://www.getslowly.com/en/story/rg/

I got a few disappointing letters with people from a different country (not the same as your correspondent above); after a single 4 line "letter" or two, they pushed me to share my personal instant messaging contact info -- WhatsApp, QQ, FB Messenger. I got so annoyed that I put a whole country block on my profile, and until now it's still there.

Hope this helps - welcome to Slowly and a big community of decent, intelligent and sensitive people, waiting and looking for pen pal friends everywhere.

...And I just sent this as a submission to the Slowly Stories feature. Fingers crossed if they like it, might get published.

Which I think would be really good to let people know this option exists and is so easy to get going.

&#x200B;

https://www.getslowly.com/en/submit-your-story/

No, you create your write up, and send it in - and wait for them to contact you back and see if it's accepted. I haven't been asked any questions about my story.

Mine is posted at https://www.getslowly.com/en/story/rg/

I turned my age filtering off after reading this story. After all penpaling to me means to explore the world with a different perspective. https://www.getslowly.com/en/story/the-rtist/

I am 37M and a 13 yrs old girl sent me a letter, at first I feel a bit creepy as well but after a while all I can say is I learnt so much from her. it won't happen elsewhere without Slowly.

> Will do this.

I have nothing to do with the project

https://status.im/

but there is an opportunity to create your own versions of stickers and offer them there both for free and for money.

JFYI ALSO

https://decrypt.co/37726/men-behind-100-million-illegal-ico-disappear-into-the-fog

> Aug 5, 2020

> A spokesman for Status declined to comment on the matter to Decrypt.

>The spokesman declined to say whether he had himself spoken to the co-founders

It would be useful if you can provide :

• the version of the app you are using - I imagine probably the latest? (some of us prefer to use older versions for different reasons).
• The keyboard app in use in the phone. GBoard is a heavy option, I would suggest trying some other similar, maybe the Microsoft SwiftKey app? I do use that and it seems much more fluid.

Better yet, have you seen, tried or considered the Slowly Web client? That runs in a browser window, in a laptop or desktop computer, and is definitely much more productive for reading and writing letters. Give it a try? 🙂

https://apps.apple.com/app/slowly/id1199811908

> Write letters and make friends

.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slowlyapp

> Write letters. Make friends. Exchange Languages.

.

The next step is "Dating":

> "New Members Only" in version 6.x

ROFL

>I think it's still in beta?

That could be -- I just looked and only saw version 6.0.11, same as before.

Slowly's page at the <strong>Google Play Store</strong>.

JFYI

1) https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.reddit.frontpage

2) https://www.reddit.com/r/help/comments/4v3226

> Some people are having trouble getting back to the mobile website (m.reddit.com)

>Hi Native, it's also a good app

Thanks for mentioning -- Did a Bing search and there are versions for iOS, Android and Windows, so seems a good option to consider.

Android version is here on Play store. And the other ones show in this Search.

&#x200B;

> Have you ever wondered how to say "I love you" in another language? Find out on HiNative! Ask any questions about English, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian, Arabic, Portuguese, German, Italian, and over a hundred other languages and dialects. Get answers to your questions from native speakers in a matter of minutes.
Spread the language learning love by helping other users learn your native language.

No longer in Beta, now everyone can get the updated version 6.11.

Both iOS and Android are ready for you.

Update and enjoy. Cheers, thank you Slowly Team!

> Clearly a Tinder man.

A real master can arrange a text-correspondence of 12 pages(!) even there - read the translation into Russian(*) of a chapter from a fresh French book https://www.amazon.fr/LAmour-sous-algorithme-Judith-Duportail/dp/B07KZ35P5W

(*) https://meduza.io/feature/2020/06/28/ya_hochu_chtoby_kto-nibud_mne_napisal

The correspondence with No. 603 took about 12 pages. I say that I "really like his beard", that "well, if he hasn't had a Tinder-date yet, I'll teach him", I assure him that "I rarely have a nice conversation at Tinder either" before closing the application. It's easy to be cruel.

.

Переписка с № 603 заняла примерно 12 страниц. Я говорю, что мне «очень нравится его борода», что «ну, если у него еще не было Tinder-свиданий, я его научу», уверяю его, что «у меня тоже редко случаются приятные беседы в Tinder», перед тем как закрыть приложение. Беспечная жестокость.