WELCOME TO
THE SOVEREIGN WEB
The Small Web and Indie Web movements have played a crucial role in reclaiming personal space on the internet. They emphasize decentralized ownership, creativity, and alternatives to big tech platforms, and for many, theyβve been a breath of fresh air.
But over time, these movements have also developed their own cultures, ideologies, and norms. Many of these can feel just as limiting as the systems they were built to oppose.
The Sovereign Web was born from a desire to go even deeper.
Not just to escape corporate control, but to completely dissolve expectations around how a personal website should look, feel, or function. Hereβs how it differs.
No Social Constructs
Β While other movements often develop spoken and unspoken community standards or preferred aesthetics (such as retro design, hand-coding, or specific tools), the Sovereign Web says:
You choose your tools. You define your vibe. No explanations required.
No Group Identity To Conform To
The Sovereign Web isnβt a club or collective; itβs a philosophy of freedom.
You donβt have to βfit inβ to belong. There are no shared values you must publicly perform.
You create from your truth, not from group consensus.
Modern, Retro, or Beyond. All Valid.
Some corners of the Small Web focus heavily on nostalgia, hand-coded HTML, and vintage aesthetics. These are all valid paths, but have often led to regressive mindsets that actively reject anything or anyone who chooses to move in a more modern direction with personal website building.
The Sovereign Web welcomes building from nostalgic values, but also openly embraces modern tools, futuristic design, and unconventional approaches.
Experimentation, innovation, and intuition are equally sacred here.
No Ideological Favoritism. Equal Freedom.
Unlike movements that operate under codes of conduct rooted in specific ideological values, the Sovereign Web takes a different approach.
One groupβs comfort isnβt prioritized over anotherβs. Toxic behavior isnβt excused based on who itβs coming from or who itβs aimed at. This is not a space for double standards. Here, everyone is equal. Everyone is welcome. Everyone is responsible for their own experience.
This movement isnβt governed by moderation policies or virtue signals. Itβs governed by personal sovereignty.
You are free to express yourself honestly and authentically. This does not equal being a safe haven for bad actors. Others are equally free to curate their experience, set their own boundaries, be exclusionary of bad actors, and build the kind of community or solitude that works for them. It is each individualβs own responsibility to curate their own experience, and that experience will look different for everyone based on personal preferences.
There are no universal rules of engagement in the Sovereign Web. There is only personal choice (yours), and the freedom to create, connect, ignore, or disengage as you see fit.
This isnβt a sanitized space. Itβs a sovereign one. True freedom includes the responsibility to self-govern.
Sovereignty is the Core.
At the heart of this movement is a radical belief: You are the sovereign creator of your digital world. No one dictates your direction. No one defines your boundaries. You are free to evolve, contradict yourself, burn it all down, start again, and find others who resonate with what youβve built.
β MEMBERS β
β WEBRING RULES β
Please be sure to read the following rules carefully.
This is an 18+ webring, as some sites may contain NSFW material. Please do not apply if you are under 18.
Nothing illegal β including content that skirts the line.
Prohibited Content
- Nothing illegal.
Due to an influx of related applications, it seems further clarification is needed. This webring does not accept sites that host or link to sexual or erotic content involving minors. This includes written fiction, anime/hentai, fictional characters, drawings, or descriptions where characters are depicted as under 18, described as children or teenagers, or otherwise presented as minors in a sexualized way. In many jurisdictions this falls under child pornography and is illegal. Donβt bother applying if your site contains any of this, or other illegal content. - Nothing malicious (such as scams, phishing, malware, viruses, harassment, or doxing.)
- Personal websites only.
It might seem contradictory to have rules for such a space, but they arenβt many. I wonβt be a host to anything that will get me into legal trouble, nor will I be a host to spaces of malicious intent. Those are things that should be common sense and go without saying. Iβm not here to police anyoneβs opinions on anything or try and control how people create or interact. These rules are the bare minimum to keep this community safe, while also promoting freedom of authentic expression.
β HOW TO JOIN β
- Carefully read the rules.
Β
- If you feel your website would fit in with this webring, add the webring code (shown below) to a page on your website that youβd like people to land on (this is usually your index, home, or landing page).
Β
- Once step #2 is done, fill out the application form at the bottom of this page.
Your link will become active in the webring as soon as itβs accepted. Please be patient if it takes me some time to get to your application. You will receive an email with the verdict either way. If you donβt receive an email, be sure to check your spam folder in case it ends up in there.
β WEBRING SCRIPT β
IMPORTANT: Copy and paste the following code into the HTML file of the website page you want people to visit. When people are navigating through the webring, this is the page people will end up on when they arrive to your website so be sure to place the widget on the page you want your webring visitors to enter from.
<div id="sovereignwebring">
<script src="https://thecozy.cat/core/OnionRing-SovereignWeb/onionring-variables.js"></script>
<script src="https://thecozy.cat/core/OnionRing-SovereignWeb/onionring-widget.js"></script>
</div>