Table of Contents
Being a Good Neighbour
Linking to other independent sites is not optional decoration. It is the connective tissue of the web as ecosystem. As Matt put it: “the IndieWeb dies without people spreading the word.”
Blogrolls
A list of other blogs and sites you actually read. The original way communities formed in the blogosphere — people pointing to people, creating discovery without algorithms.
Add a /blogroll page to your site. Update it. When you find something worth reading, link to it.
Webrings
See Directories & Blogrolls — Webrings section for a full list of active rings.
The webring model creates immediate neighbours: the sites directly before and after you in the ring. Those sites' readers can find you; your readers can find them. Joining a webring is one of the fastest ways to bootstrap discovery on the IndieWeb.
Discovery Tools
IndieNews
IndieWeb news aggregator, similar to Hacker News. Accepts submissions only via webmention — your site must send a webmention to submit. Surfaces independent writing without centralized editorial control.
IndieWeb Directory
Community-maintained listing of IndieWeb-participating sites.
32-Bit Café Resource List
The most comprehensive resource list for the personal web, maintained by the 32-Bit Café community (Discourse forum).
XFN (XHTML Friends Network)
Add semantic meaning to links with the rel attribute:
<a href="https://friend.example.com" rel="friend met">Their name</a>
Relationship values include friend, colleague, met, me (for your own content elsewhere). Parsed by IndieWeb tools and microformats readers.
Link blogs
A dedicated page or recurring post linking to and briefly commenting on interesting articles encountered recently. Low overhead, high signal — a running log of what caught your attention.
IndieWeb Carnival
A monthly blogging event: each month has a theme and a host. Write a post responding to the theme, send the host a webmention or notification. Entries are collected and shared.
Browse current and past themes at indieweb.org/IndieWeb_carnival.
Community Spaces
| Space | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| social.lol | Mastodon instance | omg.lol members; friendly, small |
| omg.lol IRC | IRC chat | Accessible via web or IRC client |
| 32-Bit Café | Discourse forum | IndieWeb-focused; excellent resource list |
| tilde.town BBJ | Terminal BBS | See tilde.town Tools |
| IndieWeb chat | IRC/Matrix | #indieweb on Libera.Chat |
The Blank Pages Problem
Sparse “under construction” pages that never get finished are a missed opportunity. If you're planning a blogroll or a /canon page or a /now page, the best time to start it is now, even imperfectly. Pages that don't launch before you start writing rarely get finished.
Start with three links. Add more when you find them.