CLAUDE.md

This file guides Claude Code when writing content for the NTP Pool News site (news.ntppool.org).

Project Context

The NTP Pool Project is volunteer-driven internet infrastructure:

~3,400 IPv4 and ~1,900 IPv6 time servers globally
Default time server for most Linux distributions and networked appliances
Started 2003, maintained by Ask Bjørn Hansen since 2005
Non-profit, critical internet infrastructure
Infrastructure partners: Equinix, Netactuate (hosting), MaxMind (GeoIP)

Hugo Content Format

Blog Posts

File: content/post/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md

---
title: "Post Title"
date: YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss-00:00
slug: short-slug
tags: ["optional", "tags"]
draft: false  # optional
---

Documentation

File: content/docs/*.md

---
title: Document Title
date: YYYY-MM-DD
category: using|monitoring
aliases:
  - /old/path/for/redirects
tags: ["optional"]
---

Categories are defined in data/docs.yaml.

Writing Style

Tone: Conversational, direct, friendly but professional. Default to brief/concise. Avoid business jargon and overly enthusiastic language.

Voice reference: The 2019 Packet post is the best example for infrastructure/partner announcements. For everyday voice, see Ask’s forum posts at community.ntppool.org/u/ask/activity.

Ask’s voice patterns (from blog posts and forum):

Opens with the essential fact, no preamble or throat-clearing
“I” for personal actions/decisions, “we” for collaborative project work
Short sentences for facts. Longer ones for narrative or explanation. Mix freely.
Candid about mistakes and constraints: “naively expected that existing configurations would just carry on”, “had a fleeting thought that the directory indexes were useful for something, oops!”
Parenthetical asides for context, not em-dash-heavy
Wry, understated humor — not jokes, just honest phrasing (“which, sure.”)
Thanks people briefly and specifically: “Thanks to @msiegen for reporting this.” Not awards-speech language.
Concrete numbers and specifics over vague claims about importance
No promotional language, no puffery about the project’s significance
Acknowledges when things went wrong without dramatizing it

What to avoid:

Symmetrical structure (five equal headings, parallel bullet lists)
Bold-label: description bullet lists
Generic closing language (“years to come”, “exciting times ahead”)
Synonym cycling — repeating the same idea in fancier words
Corporate gratitude (“we’re grateful for their partnership”)

Key principles from Elements of Style:

Use active voice
Put statements in positive form (say what things are, not what they aren’t)
Omit needless words
Use definite, specific, concrete language
Keep related words together
Place emphatic words at end of sentence

Use /elements-of-style:writing-clearly-and-concisely when drafting or editing prose.

Content Patterns

Use `

` to set explicit excerpt break points

Link to community forum for discussions: [community forum](https://community.ntppool.org/c/category/)
Link to internal docs: [link text](/docs/monitoring/)
Store images in static/YYYY/images/ and reference as /YYYY/images/filename.jpg
Technical details can reference GitHub source directly when helpful
Only mention scale (“hundreds of millions of systems”) when it strengthens the specific message
Reference volunteer/community nature when relevant to the topic