The rules, printed in full
How it works: every good product gets seen. Rank is never for sale.
A launch site where every approved product gets at least 300 real views, votes are weighed by a published table, and every launch shows where its points came from. Here is everything that decides what you see.
- Every launch gets seenAt least 300 real views for each approved launch.Chapter 4
- A week, fair to every time zoneMonday to Monday, UTC. No midnight sprint.Chapter 1
- Verified voters, public provenancePublished weights, and a ledger on every page.Chapters 2 and 5
- Three leaguesA big company never competes with two people.Chapter 3
- Proof over hypeVerified traction is coming later. Until then we show only what we can count ourselves.Chapter 8
- A page that keeps livingUpdates, followers and history after the week ends.Chapter 8
- Rank is never soldSponsors stay in labelled boxes. Every rejection has a reason and one appeal.Chapters 6 and 7
- Something unclear?Ask us and we will improve this page.hello@everydebut.com
The week: Monday to Monday, in UTC
Every launch week is an issue. All approved launches go live together at the start of the week, stay for seven full days and end together. Nobody gets an advantage for being awake at midnight in California.
For the first 48 hours there are no ranks and no points anywhere public. Lists are shuffled for each reader, and the shuffle changes every day, so no position on the page is worth more than another. Votes still count. After that, lists are ordered by points.
- Mon00:00
- Tue
- Wed00:00
- Thu
- Fri
- Sat
- Sun24:00
- Opens
- Monday 00:00
- Ranked from
- Wednesday 00:00
- Results freeze
- Next Monday 00:05
Next Monday 00:00 UTC isSun 4 pm San FranciscoSun 7 pm New YorkMon 1 am BerlinMon 5:30 am MumbaiMon 9 am Tokyo
Example, not real launches
Why shuffle?
Early votes snowball: the top spot gets seen, so it gets more votes. Shuffling for the first 48 hours gives every launch the same start. Try it: each visitor gets their own order for the day.
Visitor 1 sees this order today.
- Example Notes
- Example Budget
- Example Timer
- Example Wiki
- Example Forms
- Example Maps
Points: one person, one account, published weights
A vote's weight depends only on how old and how verified the voting account is. This is the exact table the code uses, so a pile of fresh accounts cannot buy a rank. In our charts a fainter colour means a lighter vote. These weights are for launch votes. Votes on forum ideas are plain counts.
| The voter's account | In charts | Vote weight |
|---|---|---|
| Full-weight votes Email-verified, at least 7 days old, or GitHub-linked with a GitHub account at least 180 days old | full colour | 1.0 |
| Newer accounts 1 to 7 days old | lighter | 0.5 |
| Brand-new accounts Under 24 hours old | lightest | 0.25 |
| Counts nothing Suspended, a maker or the submitter of the product, or vote removed by moderation | hatched | 0 |
Feedback counts too. The first useful feedback an account leaves on a launch adds half of that account's vote weight, whether or not it voted. Useful means at least one answer of 30 characters or more, not counting spaces, and not hidden by moderation.
Ties go to the launch with more distinct voters, then to a fixed random order for that week.
Worked example
Ana's account is 30 days old. She votes 1.0 and answers “Who is it for?” in a full sentence, + 0.5. Ana adds 1.5 points.
Ben's account is three days old. He votes 0.5 and leaves useful feedback, + 0.25. Ben adds 0.75 points.
Three leagues, ranked separately
The maker declares the league when submitting. A moderator can move a launch to another league, always with a written reason that is logged. The front page shows all leagues together for browsing, but each league has its own ranking and its own badges.
Built on your own money
Self-funded, or only money from friends and family. A team of 10 people or fewer.
Backed by investors
Has raised money from outside investors: angels, venture funds or accelerators.
Established companies
50 or more employees, or any product of a public company or a big tech brand.
The 300-view guarantee
Every approved launch is shown, in rotation, until it has at least 300 real views (one per person per day). The front page always has a Discover lane for the launches with the fewest views so far. If the week ends before a launch reaches 300, it stays in line for the Discover lane in the weeks after, until it does. Its makers do not need to do anything.
Example
Still being seen
- Seen so far
- Forecast at today’s pace (not a promise)
- Still to go to 300
Example
Guarantee met
- Seen so far
What counts as one view
- At least half of the launch's card is on screen for at least one second.
- One view per person per launch per day. Known bots are not counted, and neither are visits without JavaScript.
- Counting needs no cookies: a daily random salt is used, then destroyed the next day.
Makers see their live count on “My launches” from the first minute. Everyone else sees it after the first 48 hours.
The ledger: where every point came from
Every launch page prints its ledger, public after the first 48 hours and always visible to its makers: the sum written out, the share of points from accounts younger than 7 days, the share of votes through the makers' own link, votes that count 0, with reasons, and points for each day.
An example ledger, computed by the same rules as every real one
| Source | Count | Weight | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-weight votes | 20 | × 1.0 | 20.00 |
| Newer accounts (1–7 days) | 4 | × 0.5 | 2.00 |
| Brand-new accounts (under 24 h) | 2 | × 0.25 | 0.50 |
| Feedback bonus | 5 | × ½ wt | 2.25 |
| Votes that count 0 | 1 | × 0 | 0.00 |
| Points from 26 voters | 24.75 | ||
Why a vote counts 0
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Self-vote (by a maker or submitter) | A maker or the submitter of the product voted, for example from a second account. |
| Suspended account | The account was suspended for breaking the rules; all its votes weigh 0. |
| Coordinated voting | Votes arranged in a group, traded or bought. |
| Other | Anything else, always with a written note in the moderation log. |
Our system flags patterns, such as many votes from one network within an hour, or new accounts that arrive through one share link and vote for nothing else. A person reviews every flag. Nothing is removed automatically, and every removal is counted in public. Votes through the makers' own link are normal when makers share their launch; they count the same and are only shown.
Moderation: a reason for every decision, and one appeal
Automated checks run first: the site loads, uses HTTPS, is not parked, is not already listed, is complete and is allowed. Then a person reviews it. If we say no, or ask for changes, you get one of these reasons and a short note.
| Reason | In plain words |
|---|---|
Not live or brokennot_live_or_broken | The product could not be used: the site did not load, the main feature failed, or sign-up was broken. |
Waitlist onlywaitlist_only | There is only a waitlist or a "coming soon" page. Launch when people can use the product. |
Duplicateduplicate | This product is already listed. Post an update on its page or launch a new major version instead. |
Out of scopeout_of_scope | We list software and websites people can use or visit today. A single article or post (launch the site, not one page), link farms, and doorway or parked pages are out of scope. |
Low-effort clonelow_effort_clone | The product copies an existing one without a meaningful difference, or is a thin template. |
Misleading or unsafemisleading_or_unsafe | The listing makes claims the product does not meet, or the product puts people at risk. |
Prohibited categoryprohibited_category | Adult content, gambling, weapons, prescription drugs and token sales or airdrops are not accepted. |
Wrong leaguewrong_league | The declared league does not match the company behind the product. Pick the league that fits. |
Incomplete listingincomplete_listing | The listing is missing required parts, such as a clear tagline, a description, a logo or images. |
Spam or manipulationspam_or_manipulation | The launch or its votes break the rules on spam, bought votes or coordinated voting. |
Otherother | Another reason. The moderator always writes a note that explains it. |
- You get the reasonA reason from the table and a note from the moderator.
- You appeal onceUp to 1,000 characters, from “My launches”, after a rejection.
- Someone else decidesDecided by a different moderator when we have more than one.
- That decision is finalBoth decisions are counted in the public moderation log.
The moderation log shows, for every week: submissions, approvals, changes requested, rejections by reason, appeals and their outcomes, the median time to a decision, and removed votes by reason. Counts only, never product names.
Read the moderation logSponsors and money
Launching is free, always. Sponsors appear only in boxes marked “Advertisement”. They are never in a ranked list or in search, cannot be voted on, and nobody can pay to move up.
Ads and sponsored stories have published prices on the pricing page; they are advertising, labelled as such, and never affect ranking. Ranks, points, votes, badges, featuring and review speed cannot be bought. Questions: hello@everydebut.com.
After launch week
A product page keeps living. Makers post updates, followers see them in their feed, and the page keeps its launch history and badges, such as “#1 Indie debut · 2026-W46”. A product can launch again for a major new version.
Makers can put a free launch badge on their own site. It says “Launched on Every Debut · 2026-W47”, or “#2 Indie debut on Every Debut · 2026-W47” after a top-three finish once the week is frozen. An approved launch gets one before its week starts: “Launching on Every Debut · 2026-W48”. It links to the product's page here with a normal link, and it is never sold.
Verified traction is coming later. Until then we show only what we can count ourselves.
Our own products
The team behind Every Debut makes software and websites too, and some of them launch here. Our own products launch under the same rules and pass the same automated checks as everyone else's. They are labelled “From the Every Debut team” wherever they are listed. Votes and feedback bonuses from our team and from admins count 0 on them, and the ledger lists those votes as “Every Debut team or admin (our own product)”. They never get a sponsor or advertisement placement.