• do not post todo apps, calculators, notepads, calendars, twitter clones, facebook clones, or any other type of app that has already been perfected thousands of times.
• do not write an app that you would not use yourself.
• do not release something that you are not proud of.
• do not release something that you do not consider ready to be used.

no one needs things like these. it is disgraceful to create and release something like this, especially if it is presented as something that people are meant to use. don't clutter the web.

if you must release something in an unfinished state, allow yourself to go through the process of running alpha / beta / etc. tests.

the web is for everyone. if you forget that, you bring disgrace to the web. make your websites as accessible as possible. this means, at least:

• make sure your websites can load even using a poor connection.
• make sure that people who are colorblind can navigate easily.
• make sure that people who cannot see are able to navigate.
• make sure that people not using a pointing device (mouse, finger on mobile) can navigate.
• make sure that all images have alt text that describes the image in detail.
• make sure to create some form of graceful degradation in the case that users have disabled javascript.

the primary ideal function of the web enables free sharing among humans and building friendly community. if you feel that you must forcefully guide your users and employ psychological 'tricks' in order to sell products / acquire newsletter signups / get what you want, you are making a grave mistake and bring dishonor on your own name.

• do not redirect the user if they cannot reasonably expect to be redirected.
• do not use javascript to force the user to click on things that they would not have clicked on their own.
• do not control the user's scrolling in order to bring them to a point on your webpage that you think is most relevant. this is annoying.
• do not prevent the user from doing things if they do not:
  • accept cookies
  • sign up for your newsletter
  • unblock your ads

relinquish your grip. seeking to direct and control people who you otherwise should not be able to control is highly dishonorable, and use of all techniques enabling a website developer to indirectly control users is very shameful.

it is good and often nigh essential to create your own component library for a project. however, it is not acceptable to use pre-created frameworks, such as bootstrap, tailwind, foundation, bulma, or any other thing that provides pre-styled elements. furthermore, do not use pointless libraries such as jquery or lodash. these introduce bloat and discourage skill growth.

the web is saturated with clones and copycats, and developers who jump onto every new bandwagon that passes by. do not contribute waste to the wasteland. show creativity and initiative.

no tool is worth creating divisions of community. web developers should treat other web developers warmly, and disavow elitism and schisms.

the humans using your site will not care if you used react over vue, deno over node. show respect for builders of the web, no matter what tools they use to create their works.

nothing is permanent. the web is in constant flux. do not assume any design, any line of code, any hack, or any website will pass the brutal tests of time. therefore, do not attach yourself to a project without being willing to rebuild it to meet new requirements, or to accommodate new ideas and new people.

know that you may mistakenly create something harmful. if you have created something harmful on the web, and it is brought to your attention, seek to learn from your mistake. destroy, and build again. fill the void and plant a garden.

do not make anything that you will not be willing to either rebuild or completely destroy. however, archiving old and unusable things is paramount to preservation of the history of our web — this is critical in a place where everything changes so rapidly.

taking inspiration from the web is a wonderful thing to do. however, seek inspiration from outside of the field as well. when designing something new, look to architecture, to print design, to urban design, to paintings, and to nature. create a collage in which these things exist — transliterated and transformed through your lens — given new life and form in the medium of the web.

the web is for humans, and humans exist in a world where it is possible to experience a massive amount of different environments, cultures, languages, and art forms in one's life. draw from your own experiences and those imparted to you from others to make unique and interesting websites.

create works in which humanity and nature engage in symbiosis with the machine worlds. through this, truly new experiences are born.

nothing is more important than offering a good experience to everyone. all must fall in line behind this.

seek beauty, seek happiness, and seek to create something that you are proud of. if you do these things, it is apparent in your work. the most honorable thing that a developer can seek is to plant a flower in the wasteland of the web. even one flower increases the humanity of the web and takes a step toward restoring balance.

if we all die having planted only one flower in the wasteland, our lives will have been well spent. so every day I wake I seek a flower seed. and I will keep seeking and planting until I no longer can. and I hope you will do even better than I.

may you find peace, and may the flowers you plant bloom eternally under the sky.

the idea for this came from pietro righi riva's rejecta. it is also inspired by adryd's ethical web design practices.

psst...if you have a better name for this document, please don't hesitate to tell me about it.

also, if you have suggestions and stuff, maybe make a pr if you want!