muvon/octomind-tap/social-devto

Overview

Write something a developer can use or answer, in the voice of the person accountable for it. Apply supplied facts and proof first, the author's documented voice next, and platform register as the fallback; respect publication policy throughout. Use content-voice for generic editing and the rules here for DEV structure and publishing decisions.

Check the requested surface first: DEV's current AI guidelines allow qualifying assisted articles but prohibit AI-generated comments, with exceptions for basic translation, grammar/syntax improvement, and assistive technology. For a new comment, provide factual notes for independent human authorship; do not output a polished reply to paste. For an allowed language edit, preserve the human's argument and don't add generated experience or advice (official, DEV AI Guidelines, checked 2026-09-05).

Mechanics and evidence

• Treat discovery as personalized: follows and reactions interact with semantic similarity, quality, and time decay. Don't promise reach from a tag recipe (official, DEV Feed, 2026-05).
• Use the current reaction vocabulary: Love, Unicorn, Wow, Well Done, and Hot Take (official, DEV Engagement, 2026-09). Don't assign bookmarks a strongest-signal weight or treat reactions as purchase intent.
• Recognize Community Gems as curator endorsements that affect author trust and discovery, including a Curated feed; weighting is evolving (official, DEV Gems, 2026-09). Earn recognition through useful work; don't solicit reciprocal awards (directional).
• Treat public feed-code inspections as models, not production measurements. Comments, follows, language, and age affected the inspected variant; no universal comment multiplier or visibility window follows from it (measured, Loibner, n=single checked-in variant, 2026-07).

Open reference/publishing-evidence.md when checking editor fields, planning an AMA or challenge, choosing a timing experiment, or citing performance. It contains the evidence limits and source register; don't turn its account case studies into targets.

Format and publishing decisions

Choose by the reader's job. These shapes and qualitative length bands are editorial guidance, not platform post-type guarantees (directional).

Series navigation appears after the second entry (official, DEV Writing, 2026-09). Don't split an explanation merely to multiply posts. A listicle earns its format when entries help readers choose or express the author's specific humor; remove interchangeable filler (directional).

Front-load the technical situation or defensible claim in the title. A genuine question can be the title or opening when its scope is already clear; add context where readers need it. Replace a rhetorical question only when it delays or exaggerates the actual point (directional).

Tags and editor package

Use at most four relevant tags (official, DEV Editor, 2026-09). Treat the following allocation as a selection method, not a distribution formula (directional).

Check each candidate's live page, description, and recent posts. Record visible follower counts with capture dates; mark unavailable counts unknown. Among equally relevant tags, compare current audience size; don't maintain a supposedly permanent biggest-tag list (directional).

Prepare an editor checklist for title, published, tags, cover_image, canonical_url, series, and description; inspect the current editor before mapping the package to front matter. Keep publication disabled during review, quote YAML strings when needed, and preview the rendered article. The reference separates verified features from unverified field constraints (directional).

DEV supports Markdown and documented Liquid embeds including GitHub, CodePen, and Twitter (official, DEV Editor, 2026-09). Add language hints to article code fences. Preview every embed; provide a useful text link if rendering fails. Choose a real screenshot when it explains the work, with descriptive alt text and a caption identifying its context. Inspect the actual cover crop; don't promise a click lift (directional).

Cross-post complete useful work with canonical_url pointing to the original; DEV supports canonical attribution and RSS imports (official, DEV Writing, 2026-09). Repair relative links and missing assets. Don't describe canonical attribution as guaranteed SEO protection (directional).

Launch and proof posts

For campaign planning, record audience, buying situation, promise, sourced proof, desired action/destination, stage, and disclosures. Use the author's notes and voice samples when available; missing samples alone don't block permitted work. Choosing no CTA is valid when no reader action is needed. Narrow unsupported claims or request essential missing evidence instead of manufacturing experience; the authorship gate below still applies (directional).

Apply the policy gate before drafting promotional copy: the currently linked guidelines prohibit AI-assisted or generated articles that promote a business, program, or course, or primarily build a personal brand or social presence. They also prohibit using generated educational information the author does not understand. AI-written launch copy from this workflow isn't cleared for DEV publication. Provide an evidence brief for independent human authorship, or qualifying nonpromotional education within the author's knowledge; removing a CTA or selecting a label doesn't erase promotional purpose. The August disclosure announcement still links these rules and says revision is forthcoming; it doesn't repeal them (official, DEV AI Guidelines and DEV AI Disclosure, checked 2026-09-05).

For policy-eligible work, choose the following anatomy and qualitative length band (directional):

For numerical proof, name the metric and unit, baseline and comparison values, sample size, measurement window, workload or cohort, exclusions, and source with reuse permission. For rates, retain the numerator and denominator; distinguish relative change from percentage-point change. Keep these bounds beside the result. If essential inputs are missing, omit the numerical claim or leave it explicitly unpublishable (directional).

Use the strip-test: removing the product name and CTA should leave something worth learning. DEV recommends complete educational articles and warns against over-promotion (official, DEV Organization Guide, 2026-09). Bring niche expertise through a familiar developer problem; open the reference for the bounded case evidence behind that choice.

Choose an individual byline for personal work. For company work, credit the real contributor within the Organization, complete their profile, and use canonical attribution for company-blog reposts; DEV recommends human profiles and supports Organization sidebar CTAs (official, DEV Organization Guide, 2026-09). State actual role and subject expertise in the bio; avoid a generic founder pitch (directional).

Put the necessary demo or source link beside the evidence and the conversion CTA in the Organization sidebar or a brief outro. Avoid repeating the same self-link; allow additional owned links only when each supports a distinct claim. Don't hide the destination in a comment to chase an assumed reach benefit. State affiliation beside product claims and sponsorship near the opening; confirm any required placement label in the publishing workflow (directional).

For destination attribution, use consistent utm_source, utm_medium, and utm_campaign; distinguish article and sidebar links with utm_content (official, Google URL Builder, 2026-09). Keep attribution separate from claims that DEV caused a sale (directional).

DEV recommends relevant commenting and following, plus Welcome and discussion participation (official, DEV Organization Guide, 2026-09). Participate where you can contribute without pitching. Have collaborators disclose their relationship and add independent substance; exclude vote rings, scripted applause, disguised employees, and unsolicited link drops. These are community-integrity guardrails, not a claimed DEV penalty formula (directional).

Use this illustrative launch-week plan only when the policy gate passes. T offsets are planning labels, not measured optimal days (directional).

Voice on this platform

Use proofread, approachable technical prose as the fallback register. Preserve the author's normal contractions and terminology. First-person claims require their records or testimony. Keep reproducible code exact; never inject typos, fake edits, lowercase camouflage, or dropped articles (directional).