JenniCAM

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do you censor the JenniCam?
A: Nope - I never know when the camera is going to take the picture so I have no time to prepare, and I never feel a need to hide anything going on anyway.

The only time the image isn't spontaneous is when I have guests. Though I encourage all my visitors to be at ease with the camera and to ignore it as I do, there are and always will be a certain number of camera shy people in the world. When this happens, the standard is to follow whatever they're most comfortable with. If this means turning the camera away or some other compromise, so be it. Other than this, though, the camera shoots pictures spontaneously and naturally.

Q: Where did you get the idea to do this?
A: Initially I bought the camera to update portions of my webpage with pictures of myself. A friend joked that it could be used to do a FishBowl cam, but of a person. The idea fascinated me, and I took off with it. Initially the JenniCAM had an audience of half a dozen of my close friends, and it spread like wildfire from there.
Q: Do you ever stage what we see?
A: No. The concept of the cam is to show whatever is going on naturally. Essentially, the cam has been there long enough that now I ignore it. So whatever you're seeing isn't staged or faked, and while I don't claim to be the most interesting person in the world, there's something compelling about real life that staging it wouldn't bring to the medium.

You may notice in the scattered archives that there are sequences which are clearly staged. These are all old sequences from a different stage in my conception of the cam. There are no longer any of these "shows," nor will there be at any point in the future. I hope you can appreciate how this lends itself to the integrity of the camera and what it shows.

Q: Why are you giving up your privacy like this?
A: Because I don't feel I'm giving up my privacy. Just because people can see me doesn't mean it affects me - I'm still alone in my room, no matter what. And as long as what goes on inside my head is still private, I have all the space I need. On the other hand, if someone invented a TelepathyCam where you could hear everything I was thinking, I must admit I'd be a bit more squeamish. *wink*
Q: What are you doing when you're in front of your computers?
A: Sometimes I'm reading email. Sometimes I'm chatting online. Most of the time, however, I'm working on a web design project. The best place to catch me chatting online is IRC's EFnet on #jennicam. Even when I'm not there, there's a great gang that hangs out chatting and they always welcome new visitors!
Q: Are there other rooms in your apartment? Are there plans to put cams in any of these other rooms?
A: My current apartment has two bedrooms (one which has been converted into my office), two bathrooms, a living room, dining room, and a small kitchen. The office and bedroom already have cameras stationed in them, and I hope to have the living room camera online soon. A kitchen camera, while I think it would be alot of fun, would require (with my current setup) installing a computer IN the kitchen. As it is, there's hardly room for ME in the kitchen! However, if there becomes a way to make it feasible, I'd like to do that as well.
Q: You're naked sometimes, is this pornography?
A: Pornography is in the eye of the beholder. Myself, I do not think this constitutes pornography. Most often, pornography is defined as something explicit which is made with the clear intention of arousing the viewer. Yes, my site contains nudity from time to time. Real life contains nudity. Yes, it contains sexual material from time to time. Real life contains sexual material. However, this is not a site about nudity and sexual material. It is a site about real life.
Q: What can I expect to see on the JenniCam?
A: Anything I may be doing in my apartment. Reading email, sleeping, working, goofing off, entertaining guests, whatever. Most often you'll find me in front of the computer reading email or doing web design work. Alot of the time I may not even be home! Is that fair? I think so - if you come to JenniCam to see the actual life of a person, you have to expect that virtually nobody spends 24 hours of every day inside their home. I have to run errands and go grocery shopping just like everyone else. Hopefully my cats will keep you occupied while I'm gone.
Q: How does your camera work?
A: I have two computers, one Mac and one linux box, networked together through an ethernet hub, connected to my ISP via ISDN. My linux box uses NFS mount to mount the JenniCam server. Then, my Mac uses MacWebCam to take a picture from my camera every minute (to keep the picture fresher). Every two minutes, the server runs a cron job to ftp to my mac and then uploads the new picture to my server, via the NFS mounted directory. Complicated, yes, but much faster and more reliable than the old method I was using. And more secure. And once the picture is up here, the server ships it out to you!
Q: When is the best time to find you in the room?
A: On and off all day - I work at home, so your chances of catching me in during the day most days is pretty good. Of course, late evening, when I'm in bed, is probably the best, but not too thrilling. I have no plans to post a schedule because, frankly, I don't follow a schedule. Some days I realize I'm out of stamps and have to run to the post office. Some days friends drop by unexpectedly. I can't predict life, and feel that posting a schedule would promise more regularity than ANYONE would be able to keep.
Q: Has Jennifer ever gone out with anybody she met through having the cam up?
A: I've met plenty of people for dinner, and am happy to wax philosophical for an evening to anyone willing to pretend to be listening over a lemonade. (note: I gave up on iced tea - the caffeine was doing horrible things to me)
Q: Are there any planned server upgrades?
A: A decent portion of subscriptions goes specifically to hardware upgrades. We're continually upgrading processors, connection speeds, connection availabilities, and the like. While there are no specific upgrades planned, you can expect many frequent upgrades throughout the life of your subscription.
Q: Why do I see light at night? Is this an old pic? What time zone is Jenni in?
A: I'm in the EST time zone, the same as the rest of the eastern coast of the United States.

Frequently I get complaints that at night people can't see due to the lack of light. When I'm feeling benevolent (*wink*) I may leave a light on while I'm sleeping. I can sleep with huge amounts of light and noise, and on practically any surface, so don't worry that it's interrupting my sleep.