Pick or Skip is Chatroulette minus having to look at another’s “lower half”

Chatroulette.  The site synonymous with showing “onesself” recently underwent some cosmetic changes, but first impressions mean everything and unless you’re impressed by seeing the nether regions of another, Chatroulette for you, as it is for me, is less than appealing.

A new site launching today, Pick or Skip, bills itself as “Chatroulette, but without the dicks.”  Upon first reading that line I was flummoxed as to why a site would ban anyone named Richard.  Only after consulting with others did I learn what “dicks” was actually referring to.

Pick or Skip is a service which aims to provide a simple, safe, and enjoyable online video chat experience, allowing one to connect with like-minded individuals with “channels.”

After an easy sign-up process, one can enter a few bits of information or use Facebook Connect, create a profile, select whether you want to talk to guys or girls, and your preferred chat language (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, or Italian), and you’re ready to let the chatting begin.

Simply select the “Start a Session” button, and pick a channel of interest. Channel topics include items such as: Dating, Friendship, Finance, Sports, and New Technologies.

Once you turn your webcam on, and ensure your microphone is operational, Pick or Skip will find someone satisfying your chat criteria.  Once you’re paired you have 20 seconds to chat before you can move on to someone else.

If the conversation is so engaging that you don’t want to let your chat partner go, you can continue talking with them and even add them to your contacts list by hitting “Pick.”  Conversely, if your sole desire is to move on from your present chat partner, select “Skip,” and commence chatting with another user.

Perhaps the most appealing feature of Pick or Skip is their anti-abuse policy.  Users can flag abusive content by clicking on the “Report Abuse” button that appears next to the name of your partner. When a report is submitted, the Pick or Skip team reviews it, and will take appropriate action – which can include barring someone from the site permanently.

If video chatting absent private parts is something you’ve been looking for, give Pick or Skip a try and let us know what you think of “Chatroulette, but without the dicks.”