DataChecked 2026-10-10
Which launch sites ban AI-written posts?
By Yash Bavadiya · updated 2026-10-10
Of the 132 launch places in the Launchmaxxing list, 11 ban some AI-written text, 8 require you to disclose it, 4 allow it, 2 are unclear, and 107 say nothing. Each rule below was read from the place's own page on 2026-10-10.
- 11ban AI text
- 8want disclosure
- 4allow it
- 2unclear
- 107say nothing
| Place | AI text | What it covers | The rule, in their words |
|---|---|---|---|
| awesome-claude-code | banned | the recommendation text; the listed resource itself may be AI-written | Although resources themselves may be partially or entirely written by a coding agent, resource recommendations must be created by human beings.source |
| awesome-cli-apps | banned | pull requests (the PR text) | AI-generated PRs are not welcome.source |
| awesome-selfhosted | banned | any contribution: entry, PR text, issues, comments | Machine/LLM-generated contributions are not allowed and will result in a ban.sourceThe rule lives in the awesome-selfhosted-data repo, and the PR template asks you to confirm a human did the submission. |
| awesome-tailwindcss | banned | pull requests written, drafted or assisted by AI | Pull requests that are written, generated, drafted, or assembled by large language models (LLMs), AI assistants, or autonomous agents are not acceptedsourceThe strictest of the set: no AI-assisted contributions of any kind, and repeat offenders are blocked. |
| Flathub | banned | submission PR text, commit messages, replies and the manifest | AI tools or agents must not open or automate Flathub submission pull requests, or generate their commit messages, descriptions, review comments, or replies.sourceAI-made code or docs inside the app itself must be disclosed instead. |
| free-for-dev | banned | pull requests (new listings and edits) | If you open a Pull Request that was written using AI ... we will close it without reviewing it or discussing it.source |
| Hacker News Show HN | banned | submission text and comments | Please don't put generated text in HN posts. Write your text yourself—HN is for sharing between humans.sourceThe rule is in HN's general guidelines, not on the Show HN page. For comments: “Don't post generated text or AI-edited text.” |
| Launch HN | banned | submission text and comments (the general HN rule) | Please don't put generated text in HN posts. Write your text yourself—HN is for sharing between humans.sourceThe Launch HN instructions add no AI rule of their own; HN's general guidelines apply. |
| SRE Weekly | banned | link submissions written or sent by agents | I’d prefer to receive link submissions written by humans, not agents. I tend to leave agent submissions unread and unanswered.sourceThe editor’s stated practice rather than a formal rule. |
| Zed Extensions | banned | PR body and replies to maintainers; AI-written code is fine | AI must not be used to generate comments when communicating with maintainerssourceUsing AI as a coding tool is welcome; the PR body and your answers must be in your own words. |
| Ziggit (Showcase) | banned | posts, topics and replies | Ziggit is by and for humans. We don’t want AI participationsourceProjects that use AI can still be showcased with the llm tag. |
| DEV Community (dev.to) | disclose | articles must disclose; AI-generated comments are not allowed | Disclose the fact that they were generated or assisted by AI in the post, either upfront using the tag #ABotWroteThis or at any point...sourceMatters for launches: AI-assisted articles must not promote any business, “including your own”. |
| Homebrew (formulae and casks) | disclose | PRs and issues; replies to reviewers must be your own | You must disclose in the initial issue or pull request that you used AI/LLM and what tool/model/etc. you used.sourceAnswer every maintainer question yourself, without AI, and keep one AI-assisted PR open at a time. |
| itch.io | disclose | the project’s content (assets, text, art, music) | We ask that you accurately tag your project if it contains materials produced by generative AI by utilizing the AI Disclosure section...sourceUntagged asset pages can be delisted. |
| mastodon.social | disclose | posts that use generative AI | Content created by others must be attributed, and use of generative AI must be disclosedsourceThis server’s rule only; other Mastodon servers set their own. |
| Medium | disclose | stories with AI-written text or AI images; grammar and outline tools are exempt | We require that any story incorporating AI assistance be clearly labeled as such.sourceUndisclosed AI text gets limited distribution, and AI-written stories can’t be paywalled. |
| Self-Host Weekly (selfh.st) | disclose | whether the project used AI in development | Does the project leverage AI to assist with development?sourceA required question on the submission form, not a stated rule about AI-written text. |
| This Week in Rust | disclose | LLM-written articles submitted to the newsletter | If you submit an LLM-written article to TWiR, we request that the LLM authorship be disclosed in the article.source |
| YouTube | disclose | realistic AI video or audio only; AI-written scripts, titles and thumbnails are exempt | we require creators to disclose when they use AI to meaningfully alter or generate photorealistic content.source |
| awesome-mac (jaywcjlove) | allowed | pull requests | AI-assisted contributions are welcome, but they should follow the same repository rules as manual edits.source |
| awesome-mcp-servers (punkpeye) | allowed | pull requests, including agent-opened ones | If you are an automated agent, we have a streamlined process for merging agent PRs.source |
| G2 | allowed | customer reviews, for verified reviewers only | Using generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, etc.) to help draft a review is permitted only if...sourceOnly for reviewers who are LinkedIn Verified, invited by the seller, or reviewing in-app. |
| Hashnode | allowed | articles and newsletters; no disclosure required | AI-generated content is permitted, but you must review and take responsibility for everything you publish.sourceBulk or automated posting is still banned as spam. |
| awesome-sysadmin | unclear | contributions to the list’s data repo | Machine/LLM-generated contributions, that do not respect project guidelines are not allowed and will result in a ban.sourceThe qualifier “that do not respect project guidelines” makes it ambiguous. Treat it as banned and write it yourself. |
| Product Hunt | unclear | comments, including the maker’s; nothing on the listing text | While AI written comments are allowed,sourceIts own pages disagree: this newer article flags AI-looking comments with a “Likely AI” badge, while the older Commenting Guidelines still say “No LLMs or Chrome extensions please!” |
Method: each rule was read from the place’s own rules, guidelines, contributing or terms page, never a third-party list, on 2026-10-10. Quotes are verbatim and trimmed with “...”. Rules change: the kit re-checks every place and warns when an entry is over 30 days old. Spot something out of date? hello@launchmaxxing.co
“Says nothing” isn’t a yes
107 places have no written AI rule. That doesn’t make AI text safe there. Moderators and readers still remove or flag posts that read as generated, written rule or not. On Hacker News, a poster relayed a moderator’s advice not to use AI “not even to polish”, and noted that the Show HN page itself doesn’t say so (thread).
The safe default everywhere: write it yourself, and use tools to check it, not to write it.