Terms & FAQ

What is Dawn of the Devs?

Dawn of the Devs is an IndieWeb webring — a collection of web developer portfolios linked together in a ring. Visitors can navigate from site to site using the "previous" and "next" links that each member adds to their page.

Who can join?

Anyone with a web developer portfolio! Your site should be something you own and control, not a profile on a social media platform. It should represent you and your work on the web.

How do I join?

1. Add previous and next links to your site that point to https://dawnofthedevs.com/previous and https://dawnofthedevs.com/next.
2. Sign in on the home page using your domain via IndieAuth.
3. Check your links from the dashboard to activate your membership.
4. Optionally, add an h-card to your site so your profile appears in the directory.

What is IndieAuth?

IndieAuth is a way to sign in using your own domain name. You set up your site to delegate authentication (e.g., via indielogin.com or your own authorization endpoint), and you can sign in anywhere that supports it.

What is an h-card?

An h-card is a microformat for marking up your profile information (name, photo, bio) in HTML. If your site has an h-card, Dawn of the Devs will use it to show your profile in the directory.

How does the ring navigation work?

When someone clicks "next" or "previous" on a member's site, the webring looks at the Referer header to figure out which site they're coming from, then redirects to the next or previous member in the ring. If no referer is available, a random member is chosen.

What happens if my site goes down?

An automated gatekeeper periodically checks all member sites. If your site is unreachable or missing the required webring links, it will be marked inactive and removed from the ring rotation. Once your site is back and the links are in place, it will be re-activated on the next check.

Can I remove my site?

Yes. Sign in to your dashboard and remove the webring links from your site. The next gatekeeper check will mark your site as inactive. You can also remove your profile from the directory at any time from the dashboard.

Is there a code of conduct?

Be a decent human. Sites containing hate speech, harassment, illegal content, or malware will be removed. This is a community of people who build things for the web — let's keep it welcoming and positive.