404 FORUM

Been heads down for a like 3 days rebuilding the entire UI for the 404 project, and now I think I'm (mostly done)

The old layout worked… until it didn’t. You may have seem me bolting on features here and there (the nav was getting super crowded), first the pastes, then pages, then Git server, then docs, then email... yeah... (or more realistically you have a life, didn't notice any of that, aren't even reading this, and I'm just rambling to myself - what's new right?)

So anyway I rebuilt it around a dashboard-style layout.

New dashboard-inspired UI

Everything now feels a little more like a control panel instead of random pages stitched together.

• modular layout
• dark, minimal, focused
• important stuff front and center
• less clicking around to do basic things

Hopefully you log in and it actually feels like your space now. (Look I'm a backend guy, but I can dream)

What I was mostly going for

Main actions are more obvious now.

No more digging through clutter to:

• make a post
• access docs
• manage your profile
• open tools

I also condensed the navbar because yeah… it was getting out of control.

I grouped things properly. made it scalable. And future-dasho-proofed it (as much as possible).

I'm a mighty tricky beast though :)

New profile pages (not just account settings)

So now accounts have actual profile pages.

You can:

• dump thoughts
• add gpg keys
• link socials / sites
• write a short bio
• show posts + activity
• CONTINUE TO AVOID BAD OPSEC

I know I seem to commun...itize(?) my projects a lot but I think community is a good thing. If you can chat on a forum or share thoughts, explore topics, dive into discussions, be inquisitive - creative - or helpful somewhere that's algorithm-free as much as it is profit free, then I think that's great! So if I over engineer the community side of stuff, well then make your own platform. I have a doc that tells you how to!

Which segways me nicely to...

Docs are now a real thing

Documentation isn’t an afterthought anymore. I struggled with documentation for a little bit. I thought about dropping guides here, then in the pages feature, then maybe as pastes. Ultimately I figured, y'all can post your ones wherever you like (I would love to see what you can teach us all), but as the egocentric post-millennial that I am, I get my own clear special place to share my advice and guides and so on. If you want to help and have yours posted... it literally just serves markdown files. That's it. It's so easy to add so just email it to me or post it on 404 or something idk... and I'll have a look, and if I like it I will add it.

For now though, new guides include:

• gpg basics + practical usage
• how to set up your own tor site
• vps guide for 2026
• operational workflows
• tool breakdowns

I'm hoping to keep expanding this knowledge-base as time goes on.

New email system: @4-0-4.io

I'm still impressed with myself for pulling this off!

You can now create up to 25 personal @4-0-4.io email accounts.

Good for:

• compartmentalization
• low footprint usage
• clean send/receive
• identity separation

Anyway, so those are my updates. Hopefully feedback is more good than bad. If you've been on a bit, you'll have noticed them by now no doubt. If not ... come poke around :)