Product
Features
IvoryPen keeps the social layer thin and the reading layer generous. Here is everything a writer’s space includes, and what a reader can do with it, no account required.
A profile for every writer
Each writer has a member page at /their-handle/ with a cover, a portrait, a short bio, an optional website link and the date they joined.
- A pinned introduction at the top, written by the writer
- Posts, categories and an about section, one tap apart
- Only real counts: posts, categories, responses
Stories with room to breathe
The reading view is a single, comfortable column in a serif typeface drawn for long text, with full support for Vietnamese and other accented scripts.
- Cover images and images inside the story, hosted on the site
- A contents list on longer stories
- Pull quotes set as highlights, so the best lines stand out
Follow by RSS
Every profile has a Follow button that is a real feed at /their-handle/feed.xml. The whole network has one too, at /feed.xml.
- Works in any feed reader you already use
- Nothing to sign up for and nothing to unsubscribe from
- New stories arrive in order, unfiltered
Responses, read by people
Readers respond with a name and a few words. Each response is reviewed by a moderator before it appears in the thread.
- No account and no email address needed
- Writers’ own replies are marked as the author’s
- Responses never approved are deleted after 30 days
Categories and topics
Writers sort their stories into categories of their own. Topics work across the whole network, so a reader can follow a subject from one writer to the next.
- Category tabs on every profile
- Topic pages that collect stories from every writer
- Plain, readable addresses for both
Light, fast pages
Pages are plain HTML and CSS rendered on the server. They load quickly on a slow phone connection and stay readable on any screen size.
- No pop-ups, no autoplay, no infinite scroll
- No ads and no tracking scripts
- Served over HTTPS
What IvoryPen leaves out on purpose
There are no like counters, follower counts, view counts or trending numbers anywhere on the network. Those numbers tend to reward the loudest post of the day rather than the best writing of the year, and we would rather you judged a story by reading it. There are no ads, no recommendation feed and no notifications asking you to come back.
Joining as a writer
Writer accounts are by invitation. If you have something you would like to publish here, open the contact page, choose Request an invitation and tell us a little about what you write. Readers need nothing at all: every story is free to read.