
Send Messages by Carrier Pigeons - achairapart
https://flypigeon.co/
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kraftman
Does this implement the full spec from RFC 1149?

[https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1149](https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc1149)

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kcorbitt
So I don't blame anyone for taking this seriously (it took me 5 minutes of
reading their blog before I finally convinced myself it was a joke), but this
is definitely a parody. I mean, just look at this from their YC application:

> Our initial market research suggests Pigeon can become a major player in the
> pigeon-as-a-service (PaaS) space.

> It's difficult to explain to non-pigeon users (NPUs), but the excitement is
> real...

EDIT: When I posted this most of the comments in this thread seemed to take
the company at face value. The multiple references to RFC 1149 and the "fleet"
page since then have rather changed the tone. :)

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willyyr
I'm pretty sure it is, but it's still fun to play along with it :)

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AndrewKemendo
This is all in good fun, but let's also recognize that there is serious
utility for this form of communication - especially in complex electromagnetic
environments like wartime.

To that end, as recently as 2011 Chinese PLA have 10s of thousands of trained
carrier pigeons for secure message transport.[1]

1:
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8356921...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8356921/China-
trains-army-of-messenger-pigeons.html)

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zamalek
Is this compatible with existing RFC1149 deployments?

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scottmcdot
Opportunity: "Get Early Bird Access"

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joshuaturner
I can't believe we didn't use this. Would you like a job in our puns
department?

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oneeyedpigeon
Can I apply for a position as COO?

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malusmage
Unfortunately, that position is already occoopied. However, you can check out
our careers page to learn more about the available positions:
[https://flypigeon.co/careers](https://flypigeon.co/careers)

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oneJob
Perhaps once your customer base warrants it, you might consider adding the
"Chief Operating Officer for Puns" (COOP) role?

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wongarsu
Their YC application contains a few additional details;
[http://blog.flypigeon.co/our-application-to-y-
combinators-w1...](http://blog.flypigeon.co/our-application-to-y-
combinators-w16/)

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markyc
_55000 lines of code_

for what?

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diggan
2 different frameworks, 22 libraries and 100 domain models. For a CRUD app.

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achairapart
I read once that carrier pigeons go only one way (back home). How does this
work?

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hguant
I live in City A and want to send messages to my friend in City B. We both
have a coop of carrier pigeons on our respective roofs. We meet up one day,
and swap a number of pigeons. Now, if I want to talk to my friend, I just go
up to my pigeon coop, select one of his pigeons, attach my message, and let
the bird fly home.

It's like swapping private keys, except it can only happen in person.

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FilterSweep
When you exchange the number of pigeons, do they need to observe the travel
back to City A to set directional bearings, or do you need to keep them in
darkness so they will return to City B out of pure instinct?

Apologies for my ignorance, asking for myself and a friend....

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hguant
According to this [1] nature article, homing pigeons have an innate sense of
where 'home' is and can use the Earth's magnetic field to point themselves in
the right direction, thanks to iron in their beaks. They don't need to 'learn'
the path, like some migratory birds - they have a built in GPS. Which is kind
of neat, when you think about it.

[1]
[http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041122/full/news041122-7.htm...](http://www.nature.com/news/2004/041122/full/news041122-7.html)

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morgante
I honestly can't tell if this is a joke or not...

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willyyr
I would like to use this. Would make a great and very special birthday gift.
Any plans to expand this to other countries?

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tempodox
The next generation of pigeons will have genetically engineered trans-atlantic
and trans-pacific flight endurance capability.

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willyyr
Nice, though i'm sure recruiting from other cities wouldn't be a problem.
Lot's of pigeons in every major city and tourist spots.

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tempodox
Exactly, and most of them are out of a job right now. Employment opportunities
as Pigeon-Of-Piece have gone down drastically over the past couple of years.
The Pigeon-as-a-Service industry has an opportunity here to step up in the
name of social responsibility and do its share to increase and distribute
wealth in one of the most ignored sectors of the populace.

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fsiefken
I would pay money for such a delivery system, but it would only work with
pidgeon hotels/stations in each city and the more specific local distribution
by for example volunteer or paid cyclists who know where to go. It would be
valuable carbonfree messaging supporting the local economies (and health of
pidgeons)! You could also do solar powered fidonet-like raspberry pi
asynchronous national network and print-outs (or handwriting) for last mile
delivery but that would perhaps be more difficult and expensive to setup. Not
sure if either would be a viable business plan.

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bryanrasmussen
Wait until you see my startup to send passengers by passenger pigeon.

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tempodox
Indeed, if we also cut out the browser and the cloud, then NSA and colleagues
will just have to train their own under-cover stool pigeons. This should be
fun to watch.

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zamalek
The problem with using pigeons for transferring private data is the automatic
route tracing (as described in RFC1149). Any person will notice any pigeon
routing that is being performed and this may provide enough information for
future packets to be captured in transit. However carefully designed dietary
controls can reduce the risk, for example, by limiting fiber intake.

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RankingMember
In a similar vein, I'm working on an app that maps the location of hot pies
cooling on windowsills next to open windows in your locality. ;)

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joshuaturner
The real question is how much VC will you need to make it a reality?

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cec
I love how in all of their "meet the fleet" headshots, the birds are totally
out of focus, only the grass in the background is clear

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bcraven
I don't get it, are these _actual_ pigeons? I would have expected a photo if
so...

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ahazred8ta
Yes. [https://flypigeon.co/fleet](https://flypigeon.co/fleet) \-- The service
only operates in Florida (USA) so far, but they bring an actual bird to the
door when delivering the message.

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samuellevy
So print the message, and arrive holding a pigeon. No-one will know the
difference.

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daleco
Their startup is actually upstair in my building since a couple months. I'll
go talk to them to figure out what's going on. I guess it's a way to get
attention and that they will provide some sort of secure messaging system.

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malusmage
No other messaging than this exists. We've been waiting for a couple weeks,
squirt. Come up here, and I'd be happy to show you the press kit and
everything else. Taco Tuesday's tomorrow! God bless.

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th0br0
I love how they're touting their in-office kergerator to potential hires.

The "heigene" typo on their "Junior Caretaker" job offer is weird though.

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tempodox
The typo clearly qualifies its author as a beneficiary of the U.S. education
system.

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markyc
how do the pigeons know where to go to?

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diggan
This is a question I have as well...

As I understand carrier pigeons, is that they don't know where to go, only how
to get home so usually, you'll give them a letter and they take it home, where
the person then can collect the letter. But this seems different.

Someone have any idea how it actually works?

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larzang
If you read the blog posts and YC app it's pretty obviously a parody.

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avip
This is great. Is expanding to Alaska and Hawaii on the roadmap?

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joshuaturner
We're hard a work developing North Face jackets and water wings to make this a
reality.

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basseq
Is it April First already?

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em3rgent0rdr
will it scale?

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happyscrappy
What is the latency like?

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lukeasrodgers
If you're willing to trade very high latency for high bandwidth, could be
worth it, see [https://what-if.xkcd.com/31/](https://what-if.xkcd.com/31/).

