Inspiration
The inspiration for Suppetium came from the https://writeaprisoner.com/ website where people can be penpals to those currently incarcerated in jail. Seeing this, we felt that it would be very useful to have a site of a similar nature for those who are bullied to get support from kind people who are willing to provide support to help kids persevere through their tough times.
What it does
Suppetium is a penpal-esque platform where helpers and those who need help can register and provide/receive help through our messaging systems on the app which ensures that users can communicate with a level of anonymity that can range depending on the comfort-level of the user. This allows for more open and safe conversation without fear or stigma.
How we built it
We built the client-side components of the program using HTML5/CSS along with Bootstrap. The server-side operations were built using Java.
Challenges we ran into
The biggest challenge we ran into included figuring out how to develop the Instant Messaging service for our program. None of us had knowledge of React or other popular frameworks/languages that are conventionally used to create messaging protocols, so we implemented a Java servlet that can collect and distribute messages and other necessary information which works with the client-side to create a seamless experience.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We’re proud of creating a program in an operational state that accomplishes the essential features needed for a platform like this to thrive and become a great resource for those who need it.
What we learned
Going for the unconventional solution can still lead you to the right direction and land you to where you need to be. We learned this by taking a unique approach to our messaging system. We could have used a simple chatbot API but we wanted to do something different.
What's next for Suppetium
The road ahead for Suppetium has strong potential. Our future goals include revamping the design of the website and adding more mobile-friendly features to it. Another feature we hope to add is the ability for helpers to add more things to their profile outside of the rudimentary basics. We feel the addition of these features will make Suppetium a robust platform. We also hope to add an email-style penpal component to our program.
Source Code
The first link links you to our frontend code. The second link links you to our backend code.
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