Omegle has officially shut down after 14 years on the internet Getty Images\/OmeglePopular video chat site Omegle is no more. After a protracted battle against attempted censorship, the site\u2019s creator has shut it down. Omegle is something of a paradox in that it is both unifying and divisive. In theory, it\u2019s a site designed to pair random users in video calls to help form friendships. In practice, it\u2019s sifting through a bunch of adult men with their d**ks out hoping to find someone to chat to. When used appropriately it can bring joy with surprise meetings and positive interactions that boost self-esteem. On the other side of the coin, Omegle can be a tool for racism or unwanted exposure that\u2019ll get you banned from Twitch. That particular side of the coin has led to a recent crusade against the site by multiple organizations who feel it\u2019s unsafe for minors who access it. This came to an end on November 8 when Omegle founder Leif K-Brooks announced they had shut down the site in a heartfelt message. In the communication, Brooks detailed their thoughts on the \u201cconstant barrage of attacks\u201d against the site and its ultimate end. They began by illustrating their own journey in life and the positive impact of Omegle. \u201cOver the years, people have used Omegle to explore foreign cultures; to get advice about their lives from impartial third parties; and to help alleviate feelings of loneliness and isolation,\u201d Brooks explained. In contrast to this, they also acknowledged the damaging misuse of Omegle. \u201cVirtually every tool can be used for good or for evil, and that is especially true of communication tools, due to their innate flexibility,\u201d Brooks posited. They were however firmly against the idea of completely eliminating something with the potential for good, solely because there is also a potential for harm. \u201cAnalogies are a limited tool, but a physical-world analogy might be shutting down Central Park because crime occurs there,\u201d they explained. \u201cOr perhaps more provocatively, destroying the universe because it contains evil.\u201d Brooks claimed that \u201cthe stress and expense\u201d of fighting to keep Omegle running had ultimately worn them down and highlighted a larger and more important conflict. \u201cThe battle for Omegle has been lost, but the war against the Internet rages on,\u201d they said with warnings of a more sanitized experience \u201cfocused largely on passive consumption\u201d. \u201cFrom the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone who used Omegle for positive purposes, and to everyone who contributed to the site\u2019s success in any way. I\u2019m so sorry I couldn\u2019t keep fighting for you,\u201d Brooks finished.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Omegle has officially shut down after 14 years on the internet Getty Images\/OmeglePopular video chat site Omegle is no more. After a protracted battle against attempted censorship, the site\u2019s creator has shut it down. Omegle is something of a paradox in that it is both unifying and divisive. In theory, it\u2019s a site designed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56936","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56936","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56936"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56936\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}