faq

Plain answers to the questions you'd actually ask.

Missing something? The policy and sustainability pages cover the rest.

Joining

Is this really free forever?
Yes. We won't charge to list, post, review, or be discovered. Sustainability page lays out exactly what may be paid later — none of it touches the core posting loop.
Do I need a GitHub account to join?
No. You can sign in with email. You only need GitHub to use the GitHub-repo verification method. The DNS TXT and package provenance methods (Phase 2 follow-up) don't need GitHub at all.
What if my product isn't on GitHub?
Use DNS TXT verification: add a small TXT record to your domain's DNS. Same trust level, different substrate. (Currently in Phase 2 follow-up. github_repo and dev_stub are the live methods.)
I'm on a visa / not allowed to run a business. Can I still post?
Posting and receiving reviews aren't commercial activity. You're not selling anything through icantmarket. We don't collect revenue on your behalf. Talk to your immigration counsel if you're uncertain — but we exist precisely so the visa-bound engineer who ships in evenings has somewhere to be seen.

Verification + trust levels

What do L0 / L1 / L2 / L3 / L4 mean?
  • L0 — Claimed.Product page exists, verification not yet completed (or pending famous-name review). Can browse, can't post.
  • L1 — Ownership verified. One substrate confirmed (GitHub admin, DNS TXT, or package provenance). Can post asks. The default working tier.
  • L2 — Activity verified. Product shows real activity beyond the verification handshake — commits, releases, meaningful age. Posts get standard distribution.
  • L3 — Contribution trusted. Maker has helped others with credited Helpful/Completed reviews. Can vouch new members in the future.
  • L4 — Featured. Manually selected by the moderation team. Rare. Editorial.
Why isn't there a generic "Verified" badge?
Because "verified" is over-loaded. Twitter Blue showed what happens when one badge means six different things. We use specific labels: Ownership verified, Activity verified, Contribution trusted— so you can tell exactly what we're claiming about each maker. We never claim quality endorsement.
What if I lose admin on the GitHub repo I verified?
Trust level automatically drops to L0 within 14 days. Past posts stay visible (with an owner-at-time-of-postannotation). You can't add new posts until you re-verify through another substrate.

Posting + the gate

What is the Review-to-Post gate?
To publish a new ask, you must have completed at least one substantive review since your last post. Substantive means the ask owner marked your review Helpful or Completed. Drive-by "great work!" reviews don't count. Your first ask after verification is exempt.
What counts as a substantive review?
One the ask recipient validates as useful. In practice: specific feedback on the artifact, named issues, reproducible test results, concrete intros. Not generic encouragement. We don't score substance ourselves — the recipient does, and their judgment gates the credit.
What if someone marks my review "Not useful" unfairly?
Each maker's verdict pattern is visible on their profile. If a maker consistently downgrades useful reviews, the community sees it. If patterns look adversarial we'll intervene at the moderation layer — but the structural fix is transparency, not adjudication.
What does "Daily-Review → Auto-Distribution" mean?
Each day you complete a substantive review, your own active asks get a 24-hour visibility boost in the global feed. The more consistent you review, the more your work surfaces. Contribution buys distribution. Quietly — no public "super-helper" badge, no leaderboard.
Why does the composer complain about "revolutionary"?
The hype-word detector flags marketing-speak the audience here's allergic to — revolutionary, game-changing, 10x, unleash, transform, skyrocket, unlock, disrupt, etc. You can override with "post anyway," but the words you keep will be visible to readers who chose to be here because the cosplay economy burned them. Choose accordingly.

Discovery + privacy

How does discovery work without upvotes or an algorithm?
Chronological by default. Filtered by category, stage, or ask type. The Daily-Review boost is the only ordering signal beyond recency. No engagement-weighted "trending," no "for you" feed.
Can my ask be private?
Each ask has a visibility setting: public (indexed, shareable URL) or verified-only (only signed-in verified makers can see). Pick verified-only for sensitive asks — pricing, churn, pivots, failed launches.
Will my work be indexed by Google?
Public asks are indexable. Verified-only asks are not — they require a signed-in verified-maker session to load. The whole site is currently noindex (Phase 0 invite-only). We'll relax once Phase 3 public launch happens.