Yes. The Darcy team has adopted the Contributor Covenant as their code of conduct. […]
Who in their right mind gives a social platform a name like “Darcy”? And why?
Well, the first question is easily answered: We did. The second one needs a bit of an explanation. When the project idea was first pitched to someone, Christian used the rich tradition of filking to explain it like this: It is a truth universally acknowledged that an online civic space in possession of good intentions must be […]
If legislation on privacy is different in countries, how can you claim that the software will take care of that?
Darcy will abide by EU legislation, but the technology side of things might turn out comparatively easy compared to the social and legal side of such a project. Obviously we’re doing a lot of research on this, and we’re not done by a long shot. We will also provide resources to community creators who chose […]
Why build something new instead of supporting existing open source projects?
We will make use of existing protocols and build as much as on existing open source software, to do as little reinventing the wheel as possible. There is indeed a lot of great work being done around the idea of decentralised social media. Each project has a specific focus, and many of these projects are […]
What technology does Darcy use? Which programming language is it written in?
The honest and short truth: we don’t know, yet! The slightly more expanded answer: The first step of making this is to lay down the requirements, the UX, have the protocols and user interaction goals set. We are doing a lot of research right now and writing these things down, looking at existing open source […]
I am a and want to help, how can I join?
We’d love your help! But maybe not just yet… We are not the typical open source project where submitting code is prioritised, as we put a huge focus on establishing the UX and feature side first. For the first phase, we’re doing a lot of research to understand what the needs are, to ensure a […]
So who decides how policies are implemented?
Specialists from various fields (Law enforcement, psychology, freedom of expression…), as well as different parts of the world, will help shape our policies, but the processes that build our civic spaces will remain an ongoing, open discussion. We care about creating a space where everyone is safe, and where everyone has a voice. This cannot […]
What if we want to do all these things ourselves?
With Darcy, you can! If you chose to host and moderate your community, then using the Darcy framework will be completely free. At the same time, Darcy will always be there to support and help you undertake this work. We will have discussion forums and professionals available to help make those tricky content moderation decisions […]
So, is Darcy ad-free?
Yes. Unlike other platform whose business model is built around advertising revenue, Darcy will generate income from performing actual services that benefit the community. People are not the product. […]
Can I have more than one account or identity?
We will indeed allow multiple identities. It might be possible that you can manage these from a single login, but we are still exploring the UX and security implications of that. Nonetheless, multiple accounts to login with will always be possible and allowed. […]
Do I have to use my real name with Darcy?
No, you don’t have to, you can pick any moniker you like. You will have a distinct username on your chosen instance, like you have unique email addresses, but you will be free to choose those. […]
Why should anyone pay for social media?
You should not have to pay to connect with other people. This is why you will always have the option to be part of Darcy for free. However, running an online community also involves hosting, as well as a variety of bureaucratic processes that have historically functioned as hidden labour. This includes reviewing reported content, […]
Is Darcy a paid, closed-source service?
No. Darcy is open source. Users join free of charge and anyone can run their own federated community (or ‘instance’). Within this structure, we offer community creators optional paid services such as bureaucracy, moderation and hosting. Just to be clear, this is only optional, and community creators will always have the option to self-administer and […]
Why should I care about Darcy as an end user? How are you better than other platforms?
Many platforms treat their users as products, selling their information for a profit. Others rely on unpaid volunteer labour to keep the platform running, which is not sustainable, and makes accountability difficult. We don’t think these are the only two possible options. By recognising that moderation operations is valuable work, Darcy wants to push forward […]