Make Friends Chat

Imagine Carlos, a 32-year-old who just moved to a new city. His sofa smells new, the fridge is half empty, and the only plan for Friday is to watch how the "How are you?" messages pile up in the group of former coworkers. Until someone tells him: "Try ChatZona, Make Friends room". He doesn't believe much in these things, but there he is, with the nickname *TostadaConQueso*, writing a timid "Hello" at 23:17. Five minutes later, they're already recommending bars with good craft beer, someone asks if he prefers 90s rock or current indie, and a girl named *LunaDePapel* tells him a bad joke about his nickname. It's not love at first sight, but something stranger: the feeling that, in some corner of the internet, there are people who won't judge you for typing "hello" in lowercase.

In Make Friends, there are no forbidden topics, but some that appear like flies in summer. For example: series that marked you (here, people discuss if *The Sopranos* is better than *Breaking Bad* as if it were a matter of life and death). Or low-cost travel (someone always has a trick for sleeping in airports without getting their backpack stolen). There's also room for rare hobbies, like collecting vinyl records of unknown bands or knitting scarves for cats. And, of course, nocturnal confessions: that moment when, after 1:00 AM, someone says "Does anyone else feel like a fraud?" and suddenly there are ten people saying "me, but with more coffee". It's not therapy, although it sometimes seems like it. It's more like sitting on a park bench with people you don't know, but who also don't look at you weirdly if you pull out a sandwich at 3:00 PM.

What makes this room unique is not the bots or the mods with divine powers, but something simpler: here, people stay. It's not a place where you leave a "hello" and leave after five minutes. There are users who have been coming and going since 2010, like *VecinoDel5º* who always appears when someone asks for book recommendations or *GatoConBotas* who only talks on Sundays at 2:00 PM to tell how their weekend at the market went. There are no likes, no algorithms deciding what to see, no profile pictures to judge. Just text, time, and the certainty that, if you don't feel like talking today, you can always stay and read in silence while others discuss if the *Dune* of Lynch is better than the one of Villeneuve. That said, if you get too cheeky, be prepared for someone to tell you "And who are you, the critic of *Fotogramas*?" and leave you speechless.

Entering is easier than finding a free outlet at an airport. No registration is required: choose a nickname (it can be *PepitoGrillo* or *xX_DarkSith420_Xx*, no one will ask for your ID) and you're done. It works on mobile, PC, tablet, or even on a toaster with an internet connection if you insist. The server is an old-school IRC, one of those that won't go down even if the world ends (it's been up since 2007, so they must know something). If you don't have an IRC client, just enter from ChatZona's website: one click, a nickname, and you're in. There are no schedules, no written rules (beyond common sense), and, above all, no rush. Here, people don't disappear just because you haven't responded in two minutes. Sometimes, the best plans come from a "