community guidelines
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IndieWeb community guidelines are advice, tips, and a loose collection of emergent norms in the IndieWeb community beyond the code-of-conduct β new community members should read through these to get a better sense of how to participate harmoniously in shared IndieWeb spaces such as the chat channels and virtual Zooms (HWC, Pop-ups, FrESH, and any others shared in chat).
Brainstorming
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Putting the Brainstorming section first on this page to better indicate its fresh & in-development state.
Thereβs a bunch of brainstorming on community guidelines and norms that folks in the IndieWeb community are working on writing up:
Crystal norms docs
32bit cafe guidelines
- Tantek Γelik : https://chat.indieweb.org/meta/2025-12-19/1766188153137900
I think we should include the section "Participating in the Community" https://discourse.32bit.cafe/guidelines#p-4-participating-in-the-community-4 and further sections in IndieWeb community guidelines as wellI have been looking at other community's norms as well, e.g. 32-bit cafe has this: https://discourse.32bit.cafe/guidelines
- ...
No rapid multiposting or voidposting
2025εΉ΄12ζ24ζ₯ Tantek Γelik posted in Slack (but didn't make it to the chat archive)
hey folks I'd like to make a guideline for folks to please not rapidly multipost, that is, rapidly post one after another in chat within a short period of time. this is something 32-bit cafe has figured out is bad for community and I have heard complaints about it (and dislike it myself) here in #indieweb channels. we can figure out specifics like maybe 3 max in a row in 15min? if we can agree on something we can also potentially get Loqi to kick someone who exceeds it by 2x for example
this in particular: https://discourse.32bit.cafe/guidelines#p-4-voiding-or-monologuing-11
- +1 Tantek Γelik
- +1 Fractalkitty (in Slack reacji ππ»π)
- +1/0/-1 Add yourself here... (see this for more details)
No spamming or scam or deception topics
If the first thing you post is an offer of sale, of anything, including your "services", you will be summarily banned. You clearly have no idea what this community is about, nor did you even spend any time reading anything on the wiki, or what others said in chat, before barging in, so we will similarly afford you as little time as possible.
If you propose topics that are known scams (e.g NFTs, building on cryptocurrencies), you will be summarily banned.
If you start talking immediately about fake decentralization (usually CamelCase abbreviations that start with "De.." like "DeFi"), e.g. that is based on a singleton like a blockchain, you will be summarily banned. You clearly did not bother to read the wiki on the topics that you are talking about. Starting your chat with a deception is a clear indicator of bad faith and we are not investing our time or emotional labor in teaching you otherwise.
Topics to Avoid
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This section is here to help guide folks to avoid (self-moderate) mild chat anti-patterns that have popped up from time to time, and provide a convenient place to link folks rather than have to explain it every time. Style note: name subsections with "Avoid ..." so when people link to them the fragment has a complete summary directive like #Avoid_Technology_Rants.
Even though we have informal chat channels (like discuss#random), there are a number of topics which have come up repeatedly and which community members have repeatedly expressed a desire to not take up time and space in the community. Most of these topics have other plenty of other outlets/venues/forums on the internet for self-expression for folks that wish to engage in such discussions.
Avoid Technology Rants
The IndieWeb community chat has an overall positive and constructive culture, in particular on topics directly relating to the independent web and empowering each other, and weβd like to keep it that way.
Technology media (and social media in general) tend to be dominated by negative articles and posts.
This guideline is a request to avoid general technology-related rants in our on-topic channels. Typically we have seen this sort of thing about whatever technology topic is attracting the most hype, currently generative AI (e.g. LLMs) or BigTech in general, and previously topics like "metaverse", cryptocurrency, and blockchain.
Lots about technology and its impact on society can be frustrating, and thereβs obviously a lot of sympathy for that in the community because we are trying to make a better web, using our own websites as exemplars.
Instead of our on-topic channels, a better outlet for technology rants (if you feel compelled to share or vent or find others who feel similarly) about such topics is the #random channel, or even better write up a thoughtful critique on your own blog!
We have a very constructively focused community, so another approach is to reconsider any general technology rant in terms of questions like:
- How does this affect my personal experience on the web, and how would I like it to be instead?
- How can I use my personal site as an alternative (or solution!) to such technological problems?
- What could I create to help solve such a technological problem?
If you discover other ways or reframing rants into constructive thoughts and words, please share!