Meet Dhisper, the small & soothing forum

Developers Showcase
1

What is Dhisper?

Dhisper is a small forum built, with focus on user experience. Posts are short. Only one person can post a new thread per minute, the rest will have to wait for the next thread slot to be available.

How is Dhisper different from Web2 alternatives?

Most social platforms today like Reddit, Threads, or X, are optimized for engagement. That usually means: fast posting, infinite content, algorithmic noise, and spam. Dhisper flips that. Here, the new thread slot is only available every one minute. This way, writes have to race their update calls to get that slot, and readers don’t get overwhelmed from reading.

This isn’t meant to scale to millions of users per second. It’s designed to feel small and intentional.

How is it built?

  • Language: Motoko
  • Frontend: Javascript + Lit-HTML

The architecture is nothing fancy, it’s just a bunch of stable RedBlack trees like this:

stable var metadata = RBTree.empty<Nat, ICRC_3_Value>();
stable var threads = RBTree.empty<Nat, RBTree.RBTree<Nat, ()>>(); // ThreadId -> [PostId]
stable var posts = RBTree.empty<Nat, Post>(); 
stable var bumps = RBTree.empty<Nat, Nat>(); // PostId -> ThreadId
stable var post_id = 0;

Design decision highlight:
One constraint I’m proud of is the global cooldown. Free threads are rate-limited to one every 1 minute across the entire app. Free replies are one every 15 seconds per thread. This global constraint adds a kind of shared competition and scarcity. Without this, Dhisper would’ve been a pay-to-post app.

IC Features That Made It Possible

The Internet Computer makes Dhisper possible in a few key ways:

  • True full stack: Both frontend and backend live entirely on-chain, with no extra cloud infra. Cheaper than web2 and no need to buy domain name/link too.
  • Stable memory: Allows me to store forum data directly and persistently inside the canister. I can focus on app’s design instead of some SQL stuffs.
  • No gas fees: Enables users to try Dhisper for free, which users already expect social apps to be free
  • Speed: Update call is only a few seconds
  • Sign In: Internet Identity, no email required (privacy respected)

How will I attract users?

I’m thinking about sharing Dhisper on some communities such as Whisper since it died last year. Hopefully, they will welcome this alternative.

Then I have some telegram members who has been wanting to see what I built.

Also, maybe launch on ProductHunt later.

Monetization / SNS / Governance

Monetization is very light right now. Users can optionally pay to bypass cooldowns and character limits via ICP token. That small paid feature gives the thread owner a few extra powers (like deleting free replies) and bumps their visibility slightly.

I’m not focused on profit right now. This is more of a personal experiment in building a slower social space.

Progress so far

  • Both frontend & backend deployed on the Internet Computer
  • Users can create threads and replies
  • Global cooldown system is implemented and functional
  • Thread/reply deletion, and bump logic are in place

Links

Next Plans

  • Implement OPTIMISTIC RENDERING to enhance UX
  • Add link/pathway system so users can share contents from Dhisper to other apps
  • Add tipping function to encourage high quality posts
  • Add reporting/moderation tools to discourage bad behavior
  • Add reputation scoring to encourage good behavior

I’d love to hear your feedbacks. Feel free to be brutally honest.

4 Likes