2 joined this week
Free meetups.
On demand.
I'm Dan, and I'm putting together a pool of Chapel Hill and Carrboro locals who want to meet people. Most weeks I put a night on the calendar. You tap in if you're free, and when enough of us are, I set the plan: a place, a time, and something to do. Other weeks I put a few people who want the same kind of evening into a small group, and you plan it together.
Takes less than a minute.
Why this exists
Here's the idea. I moved back to Chapel Hill and wanted to meet new people. What worked, years ago in other cities, wasn't an app trying to match me with strangers. It was Couchsurfing's old Hangouts feature: you marked yourself free that night, saw who else nearby wanted to meet up, and a group came together. No profiles to sift through, no matching. Just people who happened to be free.
That kind of spontaneity is hard to find, so I'm building a version of it for Chapel Hill and Carrboro, with a person as a host.
It costs nothing to join and nothing to show up. And nobody sees who flared except me.
I'm Dan Meskill
I'm an analyst for a local aviation startup. I'm originally from Durham, CT. I went to college at UConn and grad school at UNC, then moved to Charlotte, then New Orleans, then home to CT, and recently back to the area for work.
I like to hang out with friends, listen to music, play Magic: The Gathering, go on walks, and of course meet new people. You can find me at a variety of coffee shops around Chapel Hill in the morning.
It's just me running this. I put the nights up, I set the plans, and I'm at every fire. If you want to ask me anything before you join, email me at dan@bondfire.club. I'll answer.
How it works
Join the pool
Make an account with your name and email, then tap when you're usually free and what you'd rather be doing. That's the whole signup, no profile to build and no directory anyone can browse.
Tap in, or get put in a group
On a Bondfire night, tap "I'm in tonight." You'll see how many others are in, never who. Or I use those two answers to put four to eight of you who like the same thing, and are free the same evening, in a chat with me for a week to agree on a plan.
Show up when the Fire is lit
Either way it ends the same: I announce a place, a time and usually something to do. Everyone involved gets the details and confirms a seat. Fires stay small, so seats are first come.
That is the whole loop. Nights go up most weeks, you can ask for one, and I put groups together as people line up.
Made for showing up alone
Almost everyone comes on their own the first time. The whole thing is built around making that the easy option.
- Something to do
- Fires are usually built around an activity like board games, crochet, or pickleball, so there's a reason to be there and something to do with your hands.
- Small on purpose
- Every Fire is capped, usually at eight or fewer. Small enough that everyone gets talked to, and nobody is standing at the edge of a crowd.
- Private until you've met
- Nobody sees who's coming to a Fire but me, and first names appear once it's over. The one exception is a small group: there you see the first names of the few people I've put you with, because you cannot plan an evening with strangers who have no names, and I'm in that chat the whole time.
Straight answers
What people ask me before they join. Answers are out in the open rather than behind a click, because nobody should have to dig for them. If yours isn't here, email me and it will be.
- Is this a dating thing?
- No. Bondfire is for meeting people, not for pairing anyone off. Nights are mixed, they're built around an activity, and there are no profiles to browse and nobody to swipe on.
- What does it cost?
- Nothing to join and nothing to show up. There are no payments anywhere in Bondfire. On the night you cover whatever you order or your own share of the activity, same as any evening out.
- How often are there nights?
- Usually about one a week. You'll get an email when the next one goes up, so there's nothing for you to keep track of.
- Can I ask for something specific?
- Yes, and it goes to me first rather than straight to everyone. Send me the idea and I'll come back with the nights I can actually host it on, so nobody ends up voting for an evening I was never free. Then it goes to the pool as “someone wants to”, with no name on it, and if enough people land on the same night I light it. If I can't host it, you hear that from me and nobody else ever saw it.
- What is a small group?
- When you join you tap the evenings you're usually free and put six kinds of thing in order, favourite first. When four to eight of you line up on the same one, I open a chat with all of you and me in it, and we have a week to agree on a plan. Whatever you land on becomes a Fire like any other. You'll see each other's first names in there, which is the one place that happens before you've met.
- What if I flare and not enough people do?
- Then no Fire gets lit that night and nothing happens. You're never on the hook for a night that didn't come together, and you'll hear about the next one.
- Who can see that I flared?
- Only me. Everyone else sees a count and nothing else: not your name, not your face. First names appear once a night is over, and only to the people who were actually there. The one exception is a small group, where the handful of people I put together can see each other's first names while you sort out a plan.
- Can I back out after I've confirmed?
- Yes. Plans change, and I'd far rather know than have you dread it all week. Withdraw in the app and your seat opens back up for someone else.
- What happens to my email address?
- It's used to tell you about nights, and that's it. Every email has one-click unsubscribe, there's no member directory for anyone to browse, and nothing is sold or shared.
There's room for you.
Nights go up most weeks, and you'll hear by email when the next one does. Flare when you're free, sit out when you're not, and I'll put you in a small group when a few of you line up.
Join the pool