Invented examplebuilt on KindlingWhy KindlingThe libraryThe specThe Circular
Independent curatorsPools kept by people, read by apps

The Pools these apps read

Roomful and Familiar Faces host no Pools of their own. They read Pools that other people keep. Here are three, kept by a person in Portland, a bookstore and a bar in Port Ellery. Each is a JSON file on its keeper’s own domain, and each person in them said yes to being listed.

All three are invented, and so is everyone in their Pools. The files are real JSON that validates against the Kindling schemas.

Wren’s List · a dating list kept by one person

Wren’s List

Date-me docs from the Northwest, read before they’re listed.

Wren Alvarez, who keeps a list of date-me docs.

Kept by
Wren Alvarez Signed in with OAuthKeeps a list of date-me docs from the Northwest. Reads every doc before she asks. Thinks a good doc says what you are like on a Tuesday. wren-alvarez.example
The Pool
Date-Me Docs: Cascadia

Date-me docs from people in the Northwest, from British Columbia down the coast, who asked to be listed. A doc says who you are and what you want in your own words, on a page you keep. This list only points to it. No ranking, no scores, no paid placement.

Visibility
Public Its domain’s well-known file lists it, so any directory, registry or app can find it and read who is listed.
Who comes in
universal-opt-in: Wren asks, and each person says yes or no. 4 people are listed, all invented.
Where
Cascadia, United States
Address
https://wrenslist.example/pools/date-me-docs-cascadia.json
Money
Nobody pays to be listed. The charter says: “No ranking, no scores, no paid placement.”
Contact
wren@wrenslist.example

Read by Roomful in its demo: Jonah uses Roomful. Wren’s list asks him in; Roomful shows him the request, and nothing else happens until he answers.

Second Tide Books · an independent bookstore in Port Ellery

Second Tide Books

The Singles Shelf: single readers, pinned by the register.

Second Tide Books, an independent bookstore in Port Ellery.

Kept by
Imogen Pratt Email verifiedOwns Second Tide Books. Pins single readers’ shelf-talkers by the register, with their say-so, and has watched three couples meet in the poetry aisle. secondtidebooks.example/imogen
The Pool
The Singles Shelf

Single readers in and around Port Ellery. Write a shelf-talker about yourself the way we write them for books; we pin it by the register and list it here with your yes. Nobody pays, and we do not sell anything to anyone because of it.

Visibility
Public Its domain’s well-known file lists it, so any directory, registry or app can find it and read who is listed.
Who comes in
universal-opt-in: Imogen asks, and each person says yes or no. 4 people are listed, all invented.
Where
Port Ellery, United States
Address
https://secondtidebooks.example/pools/singles-shelf.json
Money
The shop sells books. The charter says: “Nobody pays, and we do not sell anything to anyone because of it.”
Contact
shelf@secondtidebooks.example

Queer Harbor · a queer bar in Port Ellery

Queer Harbor

The regulars keep a dating list. Ask at the bar.

Queer Harbor, a queer bar in Port Ellery.

Kept by
Dee Okonkwo Signed in with OAuthOwns Queer Harbor. Keeps the dating list the regulars asked for, and keeps it unlisted because the regulars asked for that too. dee-okonkwo.carrd.example
The Pool
Queer Harbor: Dating

For queer people dating in the harbor counties. Unlisted because the regulars asked: the address travels from the bar and from friends, and it is in no directory. Be kind, be clear, and say what you are looking for.

Visibility
Unlisted It is in no directory: its domain’s well-known file lists no Pools, and it is in no registry. Unlisted is not secret. Anyone given the address can read it. The address normally travels from the bar, and from friends.
Who comes in
universal-opt-in: Dee asks, and each person says yes or no. 3 people are listed, all invented.
Where
Port Ellery, United States
Address
https://queerharbor.example/pools/queer-harbor-dating.json
Money
The bar sells drinks. Nobody pays to be on the list or to be introduced.
Contact
dee@queerharbor.example

Why an unlisted Pool is on this page. Only because this is an invented example, and the point is to show what unlisted means. A real directory would leave it out, and an app would read it only if a member gave it the address.

What the v0.1 schema can’t say yet

The spec says a domain’s well-known file lists each Pool on the domain, with its visibility (§10.2). The schema describes the list as the domain’s discoverable Pools. The two disagree about unlisted Pools. Queer Harbor’s file follows the schema, as all the JSON in the library does, and lists none, so its unlisted Pool stays out of directories.

The spec also names the address field pool_url and asks for a curator_contact on each entry. The schema calls it manifest_url and has no contact there, so these files carry the contact once, under operator.