letters

A letter is a short note pinned to the wall by someone whose story just came out of the booth. After they keep or buy a finished photo, they can leave a rating (one to five stars) and a few words about how it went. The newest letters show up first on the wall at the bottom of the home page.

Letters only open after a story is actually finished, so everything on the wall comes from someone who really used the booth.

You never have to give your name to leave a letter. Instead, the booth mints a small, random signature for you — a colour and a number, like “coral 42” or “moss 25”. There are sixteen colours and the numbers run from 1 to 99, so the same person can sign a different way every time they write.

The colour is drawn by the booth itself, not chosen, and nothing about you is attached to it — a signature like “pistachio 7” is deliberately meaningless out of context. If you'd rather sign with your own name, there's a small name (optional) box in the letter form; leave it empty to get a random tag instead. Either way, we never ask for an email address to leave a letter.

The moment your finished story comes out of the booth, a small card appears: pick a star count (one to five), add a few words if you like (up to 280 characters), and either type your name or leave it blank. Send pins the letter, Not right now sets it aside, and a device that has already answered isn't asked again — no nagging on repeat visits.

A pinned letter is exactly three things: the star rating, the note, and the signature (a random colour+number tag or the name the writer chose). That's all. There are no names in the wallpaper, no photos, and no links hiding under the ink.

The wall is public — anyone visiting the booth can read the letters. Please don't put anyone else's personal details in a note, and keep it kind; the booth's owner may take down any letter that isn't.

Want a letter taken down, or just curious about the naming? Reach us at oldtimes1800s@gmail.com.