/dev/null: social network for developers

mnapoli 139 points 129 comments October 16, 2026
dev-null.sh · View on Hacker News

Discussion Highlights (20 comments)

ersind

Looks good!

TheChelsUK

Very good idea

muslimpeacepriz

Shouldn't that domain be dev-null.social instead of 'shell'? Dorks.

ajjenkins

It would be nice if the website had more information about the platform before you create an account.

cyanydeez

conceptually, just sounds like a place you go when you don't want anyone to hear, see or think about you.

probably_wrong

I have a petty complaint: if you name your social network after a core Unix concept, then why make your users login exclusively through a Microsoft subsidiary?

rvz

> No likes. No reposts. No algorithm. Everything else goes to /dev/null. *Closes tab

stephenlf

I signed up for TextLog a few weeks ago. I love the text-only social network, but their European infra meant too much latency for my US-based browsing. Maybe this will scratch that itch!

nailer

> follow people who write code, and commit plain text to a shared log. Isn't that Twitter?

simonhamp

it's fully open source ( https://github.com/nunomaduro/dev-null.sh/pulls ) and received over 200 PRs in less than 48 hours

nailer

I can't see any of the content unless I sign in. I don't know if I want to sign in, because I can't see any of the content.

t1234s

Why do all these guys have "Soy Face" when you take their pictures?

antiloper

> Computah... build me a social network in PHP. Import the user's profile from GitHub, they shouldn't have to fill anything in. No likes, reposts or algorithms. Add a catchy slogan at the home page. Make no mistakes!

hk1337

> Failed to open page I'm guessing that wasn't expected result.

lenerdenator

Devs need to be around actual humans in-person more , not less .

deadbabe

/tmp/social would have been better I think. dev = device, doesn’t make sense.

sp4cec0wb0y

Your posts have to be approved? Odd way to run a social network imo.

caaqil

This is interesting: a. Developers on average are probably low on E trait in the Big Five b. Most users in the online developer communities (at least the ones who will be doing the "social" part, per the standard 1% rule of social platforms) loathe LinkedIn-style stuff, being asked to log in or provide PII. c. Most "social" services devs regularly use are for technical/utility stuff (GH, SO, subreddits) more than the social aspect. If a, b and c are true, then this site is reinventing HN/proggit with forced GitHub login on top. NGMI.

ineptech

Errant thought - I kind of hope that the actual social network for developers of the not so distant future looks more like a bunch of us separately building bespoke applications to serve files to each other. > Dave: "Bot, add a folder to my personal data store with the pictures I took this weekend and share it with everyone in my poker group" > Sally: "I see that I've gotten an email from Dave with a magic link conveying access to something. Bot, use this link to negotiate a key exchange with whatever weird app Dave cobbled together (ask his bot if you need help) and then log into my VPS and add a tab to my personal webapp to display the content he has shared." That might be overly optimistic, but it doesn't feel that far off. It's kind of what Tim Berners-Lee build https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid_project for right?

xyst

Using GH as the only way to associate identity is a bit evil

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