r/nosurf rules, stats, and what to post

NoSurf is a community of people who want to become more productive and waste less time mindlessly surfing the internet. So the people here are working on their own habits, trying to cut down scrolling and get their attention back. They talk about their struggles, their progress, and what helps them stay off the endless feed. It is a support and self improvement space, not a place for tools, products, or studies about screen time.

One rule does almost all the work here. “NO APPS. No self promotion posts; no surveys; no research; no studies;” says the moderators will not approve surveys or apps, self promotion posts are not allowed, and research or studies on the community are not allowed. That covers almost every standard marketing play in one go. The second rule, “Mod requests/subreddit suggestions must go through the mod chat”, sends all mod requests and subreddit suggestions to a designated mod chat channel instead of public posts. So if you want to suggest something to the moderators, you use that channel, never a post.

Honestly, there is almost no room for founder marketing here, and that is fine. The right move is to show up as a person, not as a marketer. Share your own honest experience with internet habits, like what pulled you into mindless scrolling and what you noticed when you cut back. Ask real questions about how others handle specific situations, like evenings or work breaks. Comment on other people's posts with genuine support. If you are building something in this space, treat this community as a place to listen and understand the problem, not as a place to launch.

Do not post apps, since the first rule says no apps will be approved. Do not post surveys, research, or studies, those are named directly in the rule and will not be approved either. Do not do self promotion in any form, including dressing your product up as a helpful resource or a question. Do not post mod requests or subreddit suggestions in public, because the second rule requires those to go through the mod chat instead. Given how strict the first rule is, I would also treat anything that smells like a pitch as off limits here.

This is one of the clearest no marketing signals I have seen in a while, because the very first rule names apps, self promotion, surveys, and studies all in one breath. The community is literally about cutting out the kind of scroll that makes Reddit addictive, so a founder pushing a distraction blocking app is the exact thing these people are trying to get away from. The second rule is a nice touch too, all suggestions go to mod chat instead of public posts. My honest read is that the only posts that survive here are the ones where you show up as a person working on your own habits.