"hi" / "hi" / "how are you" / "good u" / *one of you leaves*. If that pattern feels familiar, it's not bad luck — it's the default outcome of two strangers opening with the lowest-effort message possible. The fix isn't luck either; it's just starting differently.
Why "hi" kills the conversation before it starts
"Hi" gives the other person nothing to respond to except another "hi." It's not rude, it's just a dead end — there's no question, no opinion, no detail to react to. Whoever sends the more specific message first is usually the one who decides whether the chat goes anywhere at all.
Skip straight to something real
Instead of a greeting, open with something that already has a question or opinion baked in: "okay controversial opinion, pineapple belongs on pizza — go" gives the other person an instant, easy way to react. It doesn't have to be clever, just specific enough that "hi" isn't a valid reply to it.
Use whatever you both already have in common
If you added interests before starting, that's a free opener sitting right there — "so you're into [X] too, what got you started with that?" does more work than any generic greeting ever could, because it's already about something they chose to bring up.
Ask questions that can't be answered in one word
"Do you like movies?" gets you "yeah." "What's a movie you'd defend even though everyone says it's bad?" gets you an actual answer, usually with a story attached. The difference is entirely in whether the question has room for a real response or just a yes/no.
Let silence end it — don't force a dead conversation
Not every match is going to click, and that's fine. If a conversation genuinely isn't going anywhere after a couple of honest attempts, skipping to the next person costs nothing. The goal isn't to save every chat — it's to give the good ones an actual chance to happen instead of dying on "hi."
Common questions
Why do so many random chats end almost immediately?+
Usually because the opening message gives the other person nothing to actually respond to. A generic greeting invites a generic reply, and the conversation stalls from there.
What's a good first message on Chatfun?+
Something with a question or opinion already in it — referencing a shared interest you both added, or asking something specific enough that a one-word answer doesn't quite work.