A self-hostable, account-free discussion forum built on the Spasm protocol. Users post, comment and react by directly signing events with a private key they already hold — an Ethereum wallet via a browser extension or in-app web3 browser, or a Nostr key — with no registration, email address or password at any point. Administration works the same way: instance operators authenticate by signing events rather than logging in. Posts propagate between independently operated instances, so the same Spasm ID resolves across every forum in the network, and posts multi-signed with a Nostr key also appear on Nostr. Full RSS output lets legacy readers and podcast apps follow instances, categories or individual authors.
LicenciaPermissive (MIT) — spasm-forum-web (TypeScript frontend), spasm-forum-server (TypeScript backend), spasm-docker, spasm-ansible. https://github.com/spasm-network, mirrored at git.spasm.network (self-hosted Forgejo) and codeberg.org/spasm-network
Estado de Desarrollo 🟢 Activo
PropietarioSpasm Network — pseudonymous, principally the contributor known as 'degenrocket'; no public organization members. Individual instances are operated independently by their own admins
Órgano de Gobierno None (single pseudonymous maintainer; each instance governed independently by its own operator)
PaísUnknown — maintainer pseudonymous; instance operators are independent and unlisted
Año de Inicio 2021
StackTypeScript (frontend and backend); Shell for deployment tooling; spasm.js as the protocol library; database per instance
FinanciamientoNone disclosed — developed without funding for roughly five years
OrígenesChat / message boards — built to replace account-based forum software (the project names Discourse specifically) with one where every action is a directly signed event and no account exists
Base de DatosPer-instance backend database; each operator runs their own. Content is not centrally stored — the same event propagates to other instances that choose to carry it
Lenguaje de ConsultaREST API per instance, with RSS output filterable by activity, action, category and signer
Formatos de DatosSpasm JSON events; Spasm hashes as content identifiers (spasmid01 for events, spasmvi01/spasmim01/spasmau01/spasmfl01 for media); RSS for outbound feeds
Edición Colaborativa en VivoN/A — asynchronous threaded discussion; no real-time co-editing
Edición de Texto EnriquecidoBasic — posts, comments and media attachments; no rich-text editing environment documented
Soporte MóvilWeb-based — instances are browser-accessible and signing works through mobile web3 browsers; no native mobile app
Soporte WebYes — the forum is a web application; this is its only client surface
Aplicaciones NativasN/A — no native desktop or mobile client
TérminosSelf-hosting — operators deploy via Docker/Podman on an existing server or an Ansible playbook on a fresh VPS. No hosted service, no fees, no accounts
Fondos$0 disclosed
Basado EnSpasm protocol (see the Spasm entry on the SD Pro tab); spasm.js; Nostr (multi-signing and cross-posting); Ethereum key signing via browser wallets and WalletConnect-style flows; RSS
Categoría de Caso de UsoCommunication / Discussion forums; community coordination; also used for hackathons, event announcements, Q&A sessions and long-form media sharing
Tipo de Interfaz de UsuarioTimeline/Feed with tree-structured comments — forum categories with threaded replies; multiple UI themes available
Capacidades sin ConexiónOnline only — instances are server-backed web applications with no documented offline mode
Funciones de ColaboraciónThreaded comments with tree structure; reactions; cryptocurrency tipping; multi-signing of a single post with several keys; cross-instance propagation; RSS subscription per instance, category or author
Portabilidad de DatosHigh — every post is a signed event carrying a content-derived Spasm ID that resolves across independent instances, and full RSS output is available; content is not locked to the instance that received it
Ecosistema de IntegracionesNostr (multi-signed posts appear on both networks); Ethereum wallets and web3 browsers for signing; RSS readers and podcast apps; independent third-party frontends exist, including UBNet profiles which combine ENS for resolution, IPFS for hosting and Spasm for the social layer
Exportación de Datos de Web2Import only — instances can ingest RSS feeds to populate topic feeds; no documented export to Web2 platforms
Coherencia ProsocialMinimal — instance admins can delete posts and configure the instance, but no reputation system, moderation tooling beyond deletion, or governance mechanism is documented. Each community sets its own norms per instance
Flujos EconómicosCryptocurrency tipping implemented. A SPASM token exists with an incentivization programme for early adopters, but the project states it is independent of the software and instances can run without it
Gobernanza y Toma de DecisionesPer-instance operator control — each admin governs their own instance via a web admin panel authenticated by direct signing. No network-wide governance body, no formal process; protocol direction rests with the pseudonymous maintainer
Medios / PublicaciónYes — video, image and audio attachments with content-addressed Spasm media hashes; long-form posts and podcast distribution via RSS
Gestión del ConocimientoPartial — threaded discussion with persistent content-addressed identifiers provides durable discussion records, but no dedicated knowledge-management tooling
SensemakingPartial — tree-structured comments are described by the project as aiding comprehension of complex topics; no dedicated sensemaking features
Gestión de ProyectosNo
Modelo de ComunicaciónAsynchronous — forum posts and threaded comments; store-and-publish rather than real-time
Resiliencia de RedInstance-dependent with network-level redundancy — an individual instance is a conventional server-backed web app and goes down if its host does, but because the same signed event propagates to other instances and carries a content-derived identifier, content survives the loss of any single instance
Mecanismo de DescubrimientoDirect / out-of-band — users find instances by URL (the project maintains a public instance list); content propagates between instances rather than being discovered through a DHT or global index
Participantes MáximosUnknown — no published limits; instances are individually sized and current deployments are small
Soberanía de DatosHigh — users hold their own signing keys and never create an account; posts are signed client-side and remain verifiable independently of the instance that stored them. Operators control only their own instance, not user identity
¿Ve algo que falta o que podría mejorarse? Cuéntenos →