Tech riderRev. 21 Sept 2026

Lobsters

Ch 446.2of 54Online Community Platforms

1Runs onself-hosted, Web
2Moderation toolsadvanced
3Direct messagingYes
4Mobile appsweb app

4 lines stated Written from the maker's own pages: lobste.rs

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Overview

Lobsters is ranked #44 of 54 in online community platforms on Specifiction. It runs on Self-hosted, Web.

Compared on online community platforms

Moderation tools: advancedlobste.rs
Direct messaging: Yeslobste.rs
Mobile apps: web applobste.rs

Facts

Purpose: Lobsters is a computing-focused community centered around link aggregation and discussion.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Topics: The site focuses narrowly on computing, and submitted links must use a tag from a predefined list.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Tag filters: Users can filter out or subscribe to submissions by one tag or combinations of tags.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Invitations: Invitations are used to control spam and pace registrations; new users have limited abilities during their first 70 days.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Ranking: Story and comment rankings come from user activity, and all users have equal votes.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Privacy and tracking: The site bans domains used for marketing analytics and removes tracking parameters from links.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Search: Integrated search covers submitted stories and comments, including full-text caches of submitted story contents.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Email and messaging: Users can enable mailing-list mode to receive stories and comments by email, reply by email, and use private messages with email or Pushover notifications.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Mobile access: Responsive design supports phones and tablets without a separate URL or mobile app.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Feeds: Public RSS feeds are available site-wide and by tag; logged-in users can use private feeds that exclude their filtered tags.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Transparency: Moderator actions and moderator identities are public, and the source code and deployment configuration are available under a 3-clause BSD license.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Support: The site directs users to contact its administrator or another moderator for support issues, and it holds weekly office hours on Twitch.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Operations: The site says it is hosted on two DigitalOcean VPSs and uses restic for backups to Backblaze B2.lobste.rs · 4 Oct 2026
Project model: The project describes itself as a volunteer project with limited development time and says it does not take donations because it is cheap to run.github.com · 4 Oct 2026
Launch: The site launched on July 3, 2012.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Tag feeds: Users can filter or subscribe to stories by one or more tags, and public and private RSS feeds are available.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Email features: Mailing list mode sends new stories and comments by email, and users can reply to discussions from their email clients.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Notifications: Users can receive email and Pushover notifications about new private messages.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Moderation: Moderator actions and moderator identities are public, and banned profiles state who banned the user and why.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Privacy: Domains used for marketing analytics are banned and tracking parameters are removed from links.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Open source: The site's source code and deployment configuration are available under a 3-clause BSD license, and the code can be used to start a sister site.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Access limits: New accounts need an invitation, and users are considered new for their first 70 days, during which some actions are restricted.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Hosting: The site says it is hosted on two DigitalOcean VPSs and uses restic for backups to Backblaze B2.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026
Intended audience: The guidelines describe the community as a place to learn about computing and share what members have made.lobste.rs · 11 Oct 2026