Show HN: I made a website that makes you cry

How the site works & user experience

• Site serves random emotional clips (films, ads, short films); after each, users answer a questionnaire about whether it made them cry.
• Some complain about “getting unlucky” with clips that don’t move them; others report being “emotionally ambushed” after initial skepticism.
• Many describe specific triggers: dogs/pets (Marley & Me, Hachiko, A Dog’s Purpose), parental loss (Bambi, Steel Magnolias), age/mortality themes.
• Others feel nothing or even put off, calling some clips “cheap shots” that rely on context from the full movie; a few note they simply don’t care about common tearjerker subjects (e.g. dogs).

Emotional catharsis & personal stories

• Several users say the site provided a needed release (wedding anxiety, general stress, difficulty crying in daily life).
• Multiple heartfelt threads about dying or deceased pets; commenters offer condolences and share long-term grief.
• One user who hasn’t cried in ~40 years shares a detailed history; the creator responds with a long reflection on childhood emotional suppression and how patterns become personality.
• Some argue crying expands capacity for joy; others prefer laughter or already cry frequently without help.

Therapeutic value vs manipulation

• Supporters see it as “Sadness as a Service” and an antidote to doomscrolling: a deliberate, contained emotional experience.
• Critics call it exploitative content-poaching, “pseudoscientific wellness,” and worry about short-form, decontextualized emotional hits.
• There’s debate over whether induced crying about unrelated content actually relieves stress or just numbs signals that life changes are needed.
• The creator counters that experiences are grounded in research, emotions are short-lived, and even short clips can surface and process real feelings, not just numb them.

Expansion to the “Feel” app & dystopian concerns

• The cry site now links to a broader app (“Feel”) for “emotions on demand”; some see this as a funnel and covert advertising.
• The concept evokes comparisons to dystopian sci-fi (Black Mirror, mood organs). The creator frames it instead as intentional, research-based emotional guidance in contrast to algorithmic social media manipulation.
• Skeptics worry about manufactured emotions and masking deeper problems; supporters note that in constrained lives, tools for coping can still be valuable.

Technical, access, and misc

• Heavy JavaScript breaks the site under NoScript; Cloudflare blocking in Russia makes it inaccessible there, spawning jokes and a geopolitical/xenophobia mini-debate.
• Users ask about sharing individual videos (Vimeo links) and question copyright legality (unanswered in the thread).
• Numerous side jokes compare the site to jobs, Jira, social media rage, and “enterprise SaaS,” reinforcing the theme that many already feel emotionally overloaded.