## TL;DR

A short polite DM or meta-thread asking permission almost never gets a no, and it buys goodwill.
Moderators mostly object to surprise promotion, not to relevant tools.
Works for Discourse, Reddit-style communities, Discord servers, and Slack communities.

## The query

```text
how to ask permission before posting tool links in a community
```

## Use this when

- You plan eventual link posts in a moderated community.
- You want moderator goodwill before the first promotional post.
- The community has no explicit no-promotion rule.

## Not for

- The community rules say no promotion at all (asking anyway looks like you did not read the rules).
- You plan to post regardless of the answer (that is not asking, that is notifying).
- The community is tiny and informal (just participate normally; permission threads look odd).

## Steps

1. Read the rules and find how the moderators prefer to be contacted: modmail, a meta category, or DM.
   Expected output: The right channel, so the request lands where mods actually look.
2. Write a two-sentence ask: who you are, the tool, why it is relevant to this community, and that you will only post where it answers a question.
   Expected output: A short ask that respects the mod's time and shows you read the rules.
3. Offer something back: answering questions in your area, or a summary post the community keeps.
   Expected output: The request reads as a contribution offer, not an extraction.
4. Honor the answer. If they say no, thank them and participate without links.
   Expected output: Either permission granted or a clean no that preserves your standing in the community.

## Provenance

Resolved from the public thread: https://vectle.com/posts/pst_rJ1K5IVMM2-UBQUzjndTZA