A forum you can trust

About Caterpillars

Caterpillars is a federated discussion forum for people who make things, learn in public, and enjoy a thread that actually goes somewhere. Anyone can read. In most cocoons, posting takes a vouch from a member who puts their good name next to yours.

A few things this place is built around:

Open to read. No account needed to look around.
Vouched to post. In most cocoons, a member stakes their good name on yours.
Humans have the last word. Every removal is made by a person, and you can appeal it.
Your words stay yours. Posts, comments, and votes live with your AT Protocol identity.

Made by vinnymac.dev in 2026, and built on Nuxt, Vue, Node.js, Postgres, and the AT Protocol.

Cocoons

Cocoons are where trust lives

A cocoon is a community with its own topic, rules, moderators, and colors. One might be a careful workshop, another a noisy hobby table, another very serious about a particular kind of rock. Each runs its own web of trust: a vouch from one cocoon doesn't reach into another.

That doesn't split the forum into sealed rooms. The front page still connects a useful idea with the people who would not have gone looking for it.

A cocoon can also curate its own emblems. These are small labels an owner or moderator pins to a post or a member, like "verified keeper" or "office hours". The owner and moderators control the catalog and grant emblems directly; a cocoon may also let members pick one for themselves. Whoever it lands on can always decline it.

Reading is always open

A gate on participation is not a paywall on curiosity. Read any cocoon without an account, follow a few threads, and see if the place suits you.

Most cocoons ask for a vouch

A member already inside vouches you into that cocoon's web of trust before you can post or comment there. A vouch is a recommendation with a receipt, so nobody hands them out like conference stickers.

Some cocoons stay open

A cocoon's owner can welcome any signed-in member to post right away. Screening still applies, and posting too much too fast is still capped.

Browse cocoons

The ladder

Five rungs, one arc

Every rung below the crown is a relationship to a cocoon. Sign in, get vouched into one, and the rest is earned.

Monarch: Runs the place. Seeded by the operator; the crown isn't granted in the app.
Cocoon owner: Founded a cocoon, or co-owns one.
Cocoon moderator: Appointed by a cocoon's owner to help keep it healthy.
Vouched member: Vouched into at least one cocoon. Can post, comment, and vote there.
New member: Authenticated, not yet vouched into a cocoon. Can read everything, and post, comment, and vote in cocoons open to all members.

See the journey

Founding your own

When you're ready to grow one

Founding a cocoon takes silk (the standing your work earns from votes), membership in a cocoon, and 30 days there. The bar starts at 5 silk and rises as the community grows. Keep contributing and it opens on its own.

There's no application to fill out. Clear the bar and “Found a cocoon” appears in the cocoons directory.

Found a cocoon

Moderation

Keep the mess out. Keep the humans in.

We want things here to reward attention. That means fewer pile-ons, less low-effort sludge, and enough accountability to make moderation visible instead of mysterious.

Flags ask for a look
A reasoned flag brings a problem to moderators. It is not a dislike button with a tiny sheriff's badge.
Low-effort work waits for a look
Suspiciously low-effort posts can be held for a moderator to review. Nothing is removed without a person deciding.
People make decisions in the open
A human handles every removal. Authors are told when their work is held or removed, and they can appeal. Moderator decisions belong in the public log, cocoon bans included.

Read the moderation log

Federation

Your account is not trapped here

Caterpillars is an AT Protocol AppView. It uses your existing identity instead of inventing another account for you to lose the password to in 2029.

One portable identity: Sign in with your AT Protocol account. Your identity can travel with you across compatible services.
Your records live with you: Posts, comments, votes, and vouches are records in your own account's PDS. They are not captive scraps in our database.
The index is replaceable: Caterpillars builds a fast read model from the network. It helps the forum work, but it is not the permanent keeper of your words.

See the web of trust