Yes. It’s a good idea to have some server rules on your server’s public “About” page even if you’re the only person on your server.

The reason is other server admins may often be in situations where they have to decide whether they will federate with your server, especially if they’re running allowlist-based protection on their server. Being able to read your server’s rules tells them immediately what kind of standards they can expect from your posts, and what kind of safety risks they might face federating with you.

What kind of rules should I have?

As rules on single-person servers are entirely for the benefit of people on other servers, it’s a good idea to keep them short, quick to read and easy to understand. However, they need to be specific enough to give some idea of what you consider acceptable.

For example, here are the rules on my own single-person server ⧉. You might want different rules, but whatever they are they should be equally short and easy to understand.

Also bear in mind that these are rules for your server, so it may include some rules that aren’t general statements about the wider world. You might be personally okay with the concept of advertising existing somewhere else but not on your server, so you might have a rule saying “no advertising”.

Is it enough that I say “Be nice to everyone”?

No. Different people can have totally different concepts of being nice, so it’s important to have at least some specific rules to give some indication of what you consider acceptable.

Does it have to be as detailed as rules on public servers?

No, it’s better to keep it simple. Rules on a single-person server are just to indicate to other admins what kind of content you might post. Making such rules too complicated makes it harder for other admins to quickly assess your server.

Why can’t other admins just look at my account profile?

It’s not always easy to tell from an account exactly what rules it is following. Nasty hateful accounts can also post pretty inoffensive stuff too. Rules take away the guesswork involved, and make much clearer what admins can expect from federating.

Also, many single-person servers have multiple themed accounts run by the same person, so from the outside it looks like there are several people on the server. It’s also a pain to have to browse through multiple accounts instead of a single list of rules.

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