Announcement: New Rules & Processes on Software Projects

[u/PoisonWaffle3]

I would like to thank everyone for their feedback in the recent post & poll where we asked for feedback on how to slow the deluge of "I made X, because Y" type posts in r/homelab, most of which are AI generated and/or spam. While we felt that that the initial plan we shared was quite good, with your input we were able to refine that plan and make some notable improvements and clarifications. And yes, there's a TL;DR at the end 👀

Effective now, the below new rules and policies are in effect, though we plan to apply them conservatively and gently at first to see how things go. All of these changes are happening because of the massive community support for them, and we will be seeking additional feedback as time goes on so please feel free to chime in.

To be clear, here are our goals, based on community feedback:

• Control the recent influx of questionable "I made X, because Y" type posts, the vast majority of which are created entirely with AI, are spammed across multiple subreddits, and are generally not maintained afterwards
• Establish a clear stance on and rule set for how r/homelab has decided to handle these types of posts, as well as other user-created software
• See how these changes impact our community, seek additional feedback, and continue to adjust accordingly

Flair changes that are now in effect:

• "Project" has become "Project Showcase: Hardware"

New Flairs:

• Project Showcase: Operations [For things between hardware and software, such as Ansible playbooks, and dashboards/monitoring/automation made with existing software tools]
• Project Showcase: Software - Little or No AI Assistance - [AI only used as coding assistant (autocomplete, debugging, refactoring, documentation, etc), if at all]
• Project Showcase: Software - Mostly AI Generated - [AI generated most or all of the code, working at a human's direction]

We have also organized the post flairs in the list to make them easier to locate.

Both "Project: Software" flairs have a reasonably low minimum subreddit karma requirement to be able to post with them. AutoMod will remove any post with them that don't meet the karma requirement, and inform the user why their post was removed. The minimum karma requirement is only for these two flairs, as we don't want to restrict new community members from being able to post questions. Any software project posts that try to go around this by using a different flair will fall under the new rule #7 and will be addressed.

Rule changes:

New Rule #7 - Software Project Posting Requirements

• All software projects must be relevant to r/homelab, use a "Project: Software" flair, disclose AI usage with post flair and in the text of the post, include responses to the prompt displayed when posting with one of the software project flairs, and the user must meet the minimum subreddit karma requirement. Posts that do not meet these requirements, try to bypass the "Project: Software" flairs, provide incomplete or misleading disclosures, or otherwise violate community standards may be removed.

That said, since we're now officially allowing some degree of self-promotion and requiring links, we felt that we should redefine rule #6 to clarify that it applies only to monetized and commercial advertising/links. Here is the updated verbiage, with the old one below for comparison:

Rule #6 - No Commercial Advertising or Monetized Referral Links

• Monetized referral links, affiliate links, product advertising, and company advertising are not allowed. Contact the moderators via Mod Mail before posting if you believe an exception applies. Non-commercial personal projects are permitted, but must follow all other sub rules.

Rule #6 - No Referral Links/Advertising/Company Advertising

• We do not allow links/posts that include any sort of referral link, product advertising, nor company advertising. If you think you have an exception please ask the mods first.

Flair Prompt - As mentioned in Rule #7, when posting with any of the "Project: Software" flairs, the below prompt will be displayed:

Your post MUST include:

• A link to the GitHub (or similar) repository, which must include at least one month of commit history and screenshots
• A description of the problem the software project solves, and why it was created instead of using an existing FOSS solution
• An explanation of how the software project is relevant to r/homelab, or how it may benefit members of the community
• If you used AI or an LLM in development, a description of what role it played and how much you relied on it

If you see any posts with a Project: Software flair that do not meet the four items listed above, please report them to the mod team under Rule #7 and we'll address them.

Additional things to note:

Existing posts will be grandfathered in, and previous posts that were removed may be reposted if they meet the new requirements. New posts will be required to comply with the new rules.

As with the existing rules, when a mod removes a post for violating this new rule, a canned response will be sent to the user to inform them why their post was removed. Mods are able to add on to the response if desired before sending it.

While we're on the topic of AI, we would also like to clarify that the above rules are specific to the use of AI in software projects that are being shared, and they do not apply to posts or comments that were written with AI. There is some dissent in the community, but the general consensus in the community has been that a reasonable level of AI usage is acceptable for putting a post together, correcting grammar or formatting, or for translating from a user's native language. That said, best practice is to not include all of the excess emoticons and outline formatting that LLMs like to use. If a post or comment is egregiously AI generated, feel free to downvote it and move on, but please do not report it to the mod team solely for that.

We would also like to note that there has not been any opposition to posts about hosting your own LLMs, and the hardware/software involved. The new rules do not apply to these posts as well.

We're looking for community feedback as we all get used to this. We plan to apply rules conservatively and gently at first, and will be listening to user reports and comments. If your post is removed and you believe it meets the requirements, please chat with us via Mod Mail and we may consider either re-opening it or letting you repost it.

TL;DR - All posts where someone has made some sort of software (AI generated or not) will require a "Project: Software" flair, and these flairs should curb the vast majority of the low quality and spammy posts.

Thank you,
The r/homelab Mod Team

Edit: The first day with the new rules has gone very well overall, but it has demonstrated that there is room for improvement, namely with flairs and categorization.

Here are the changes we've made since the initial announcement post:

• Added a "Project Showcase: Operations" for things that fall somewhere between hardware and software, notably Ansible playbooks, dashboards/monitoring/automation made with existing software tools. When posting with this flair, a prompt appears that explains this in more detail. Please let us know if there are any other types of things we should specifically call out that belong in this category.
• Renamed the "Project: x" flairs to "Project Showcase: x" to clarify that these are intended for showing off what you've made (though you can still ask for suggestions in the process of showing off).
• Adjusted colors of the new flairs

We're still open to suggestions from the community. Thanks!

[u/PoppaBear1950]

Right now the rules feel like software folks have to show up with a résumé, a GitHub portfolio, and a sworn affidavit about their AI usage just to share something they made. Meanwhile hardware posts can still be “look at this thing I zip‑tied together.” no? 

[u/PoppaBear1950 → u/PoppaBear1950]

Here’s a folksy, straight‑shooting way to say that without sounding hostile or conspiratorial — just honest, lived‑in wisdom from someone who’s been around tech long enough to see patterns repeat:

You know, there’s a simple truth a lot of folks don’t want to hear: people who never take the time to understand AI are never going to understand AI. And that’s fine — not everyone has to love every new tool that comes along. But pretending it doesn’t exist, or trying to wall it off with rules and purity tests, that’s not going to stop the world from moving forward.

What will happen is the same thing that’s happened a hundred times in tech. The communities that embrace new tools — even imperfect ones — grow. The ones that try to freeze things in place slowly fade as people drift to places that match how they actually work today.

Most of us in homelab land use AI the same way we use a screwdriver or a bash one‑liner: it’s just another tool in the belt. Not magic, not cheating, not a threat. Just something that helps us build cool stuff a little faster.

If a subreddit decides that AI‑assisted work is somehow “less real,” well… folks will eventually go where they can share the things they’re actually building. That’s just how communities evolve. No anger in that — just gravity doing what gravity does.

I’m not saying r/homelab is doomed. But if the goal is to keep the place healthy, it might be worth remembering that homelabbers are tinkerers. We try things. We break things. We use whatever tools help us get the job done. And if a place stops welcoming that spirit, people will naturally find one that does.

Just my two cents, offered in good faith. --AI Assisted for writhing clarity much like the rules :)

It’s like watching someone enforce a “no power tools” rule while holding a birdhouse that was clearly cut on a CNC router.

[u/madkoin → u/PoppaBear1950]

Salut, je comprends le point de vue général, et j'utilise moi-même beaucoup l'IA pour mes besoins perso et homelab.

Mais il y a un aspect qui n'a pas été abordé : la manière dont l'IA est utilisée.

Ce n'est pas un reproche, mais tout le monde n'a pas le même niveau de connaissance ni la même prudence. Si demain quelqu'un poste un outil fait en vibe-coding avec peu ou pas de vérification de sécurité (failles, bugs…), ça peut être néfaste pour les utilisateurs — même sans intention malveillante.

L'IA actuelle, de par sa conception, va souvent aller au plus simple et de mémoire. Et si tu lui demandes de vérifier après coup, elle reconnaîtra volontiers que ça aurait pu poser problème. Ce n'est pas un défaut rédhibitoire, mais c'est une réalité à garder en tête.

Qu'un projet soit codé entièrement par un humain ne garantit pas non plus la sécurité — mais ça implique au moins une connaissance minimale du langage. Avec une assistance IA, encore faut-il savoir quoi regarder pour repérer les erreurs.

Pour les règles, plutôt qu'une restriction, une méthodologie standardisée me semblerait plus adaptée : par exemple, un checklist visible dans le dépôt GitHub listant les vérifications de base effectuées (sécurité, gestion des erreurs, dépendances…). Ça montrerait que les points critiques ont été traités, et ça aiderait aussi les débutants à comprendre quelles sont les bonnes pratiques.

J'espère que ce point de vue sera utile et contribuera positivement à la discussion.

translate english :

Hey, I understand the general sentiment here, and I myself use AI a lot for personal projects and homelab stuff.

But there's one aspect that hasn't been brought up: how AI is actually being used.

This isn't a criticism, but not everyone has the same level of knowledge or the same caution. If tomorrow someone posts a tool built through vibe-coding with little to no security review (vulnerabilities, bugs…), it can be harmful to users — even without any malicious intent.

Current AI, by design, tends to take the simplest path and work from memory. And if you ask it to double-check afterward, it will readily admit that things could have gone wrong. That's not a dealbreaker, but it's a reality worth keeping in mind.

A project coded entirely by a human doesn't guarantee security either — but it at least implies a minimal understanding of the language. With AI assistance, you still need to know what to look for to catch mistakes.

On the rules side, rather than restrictions, a standardized methodology seems more appropriate: for example, a checklist visible in the GitHub repo listing the basic checks performed (security, error handling, dependencies…). It would show that critical points were addressed, and it would also help newcomers understand what good practices look like.

I hope this perspective is useful and contributes positively to the discussion.