# Start Here

What this is, how to get access, and the house rules.

# What is this?

Welcome! You've been given access to **The Pond** — a personal streaming service
run by Hayden. Think of it like a private Netflix: movies and TV shows you can
stream to your TV, phone, tablet, or computer, plus a way to request things that
aren't in the library yet.

A few things that make it different from Netflix:

- **It's free.** It runs on Hayden's own equipment at his house. Nobody pays for
  anything, and nothing here is trying to sell you something.
- **It's personal.** The library is curated — and if something you want isn't
  there, you can request it and it usually shows up on its own (see the
  *Requesting Stuff* book).
- **It's one house, not a data center.** It's fast and reliable, but it lives on
  home internet. Once in a while things hiccup. The *Help & FAQ* book covers what
  to do when they do.

**The two websites you'll use:**

| What | Where |
|---|---|
| **Watch** | https://jellyfin.theduckynerdball.com |
| **Request** | https://requests.theduckynerdball.com |

Same username and password works on both.

# Getting access

Access is by account — there's no sign-up button. **Ask Hayden** ([CONTACT]) and
he'll create a username and password for you.

Once you have it:

1. Go to https://jellyfin.theduckynerdball.com in any browser.
2. Sign in with the username and password Hayden gave you.
3. That's it — start browsing. For the nicer experience on a TV or phone, see
   the *Watching Movies & Shows* book for the free apps.

Your account remembers your watch progress, your watchlist, and where you left
off in a series — across every device you sign into.

If you ever forget your password, there's no reset email — just ask Hayden to
set a new one.

# House rules

Short list, honor system:

1. **Don't share your login.** Accounts are per-person. If someone else in your
   house wants in, ask — additional accounts are easy to make.
2. **Be patient with requests.** New requests usually arrive on their own within
   minutes to hours. Requesting the same thing repeatedly doesn't speed it up.
3. **Say something when it's broken.** If a movie won't play or looks wrong,
   tell Hayden ([CONTACT]) — it's usually a quick fix, and he'd rather know than
   have you silently give up.
4. **Expect the occasional outage.** If nothing loads at all, the house internet
   or the server is probably having a moment. Check back in a bit; if it's been
   down for many hours, feel free to ping Hayden.
5. **Keep it in the friend group.** Please don't post the website addresses
   publicly or hand them around beyond people Hayden knows.