- Author
- Darius Kazemi
- Published
- 8 July 2019 (updated 12 November 2024)
- Kind
- Long practical guide, drawn from one community's experience
- Original
- runyourown.social/
- Subject
- Future of computing
What it is
Darius Kazemi, then a Mozilla Fellow, wrote the guide. It explains why to run a small site and what to do today. It also lists technical work still needed.
What it says
- Kazemi says running a small site is community building first and a technical task second.
- Kazemi says Friend Camp costs about $30 a month and 2 hours a week. It has no ads.
- Kazemi says to cap active users at 50 to 100. The author admits the number is a guess.
- Kazemi advises a personal welcome for each new user and group activities. The admin should act like a party host.
- Kazemi says a code of conduct should be specific enough to repel some people.
- Kazemi says admins need a backup. A co-administrator joined after the first year.
- Kazemi wants better tech: account migration, local-only posts, easy forking and lean software. The author also proposes trusting groups of servers called neighborhoods.
What evidence it gives
The guide rests on the author's experience with Friend Camp and a few named shutdowns. It cites no studies and says so. It gives a cost figure and a spreadsheet link.
Interests and limits
The author sells related work through Patreon and offers a Mastodon fork called Hometown. The advice comes from one community of friends. The author says several hard questions have no answer yet. Software details date from the 2019 text and 2024 update.