I have used Chatroulette exactly once, out of morbid curiosity. After being “nexted” 4-5 times by bored-looking dudes who were disappointed (either because I don’t have breasts or because I wasn’t showing what I do have—I don’t know & I don’t judge), I decided it wasn’t really my scene. It has led to a few funny moments, I’ve heard, but I got to wondering whatever happened to those plans I read about a while back for software to block the unwelcomely-pervy side of Chatroulette—yes, in my family, holiday banter includes discussion of penis-recognition software (or PRS, as I’ll call it.)

My brother-in-law and I had an interesting unusual discussion about the process of creating a PRS algorithm. Not so much about the coding itself as the awkward discussions that might begin with “Why do you have so many pictures of penises open on the desktop of your work computer?” But did those rumors ever lead to anything? Continue reading →