What is SerendeputyBot?

SerendeputyBot is a web crawler (fetcher) operated by Serendeputy, a content curation platform. It identifies itself in server logs with the user agent string SerendeputyBot/0.8.6 (http://serendeputy.com/about/serendeputy-bot), which includes its version number and a link to its documentation. Unlike modern browsers, SerendeputyBot does not execute JavaScript, handle cookies, or support advanced web technologies like CSS or frames. Its minimalist design focuses on efficient data retrieval rather than interactive content processing.

As a lightweight crawler, SerendeputyBot is designed to perform HTTP requests automatically to gather information from websites. It's classified as a fetcher bot, meaning it retrieves content on behalf of an application rather than simulating user interactions. This technical profile makes it more efficient for scraping text-based resources but less effective for indexing dynamic single-page applications.

Why is SerendeputyBot crawling my site?

SerendeputyBot visits websites to collect metadata about web pages, particularly to gather information needed for link previews. It's typically dispatched when Serendeputy's platform needs to present information about a link, such as the title, description, and potentially thumbnail images. This helps users of Serendeputy's services get context about links before clicking through to them.

The bot typically visits on-demand rather than conducting regular, systematic crawls of your entire site. Its frequency depends on how often your content is referenced or shared within Serendeputy's ecosystem. These visits are generally considered authorized as part of the normal functioning of the web, where services need to fetch metadata to provide link previews to their users.

What is the purpose of SerendeputyBot?

SerendeputyBot supports Serendeputy's content curation and discovery platform. Its primary function is to gather metadata about web pages to enable rich link previews and content indexing within Serendeputy's services. When users share or reference content on Serendeputy, the bot fetches the necessary information to display meaningful previews.

This service provides value to both Serendeputy users and, indirectly, to website owners. For users, it enhances content discovery by providing context about links before clicking. For website owners, it can increase visibility and traffic as your content gets properly represented when shared through Serendeputy's platform. The bot is not known to be artificially intelligent or to use sophisticated AI techniques for content analysis.

How do I block SerendeputyBot?

If you wish to control SerendeputyBot's access to your site, you can use the standard robots.txt protocol, which this bot is expected to respect. To completely block SerendeputyBot from crawling your site, add the following directives to your robots.txt file:

User-agent: SerendeputyBot
Disallow: /

This configuration instructs SerendeputyBot not to crawl any part of your website. If you want to block access to specific sections while allowing access to others, you can customize the Disallow directive:

User-agent: SerendeputyBot
Disallow: /private/
Disallow: /members/
Allow: /

However, blocking a fetcher bot like SerendeputyBot comes with potential drawbacks. If blocked, it won't be able to gather the metadata needed to create link previews when your content is shared on Serendeputy's platform. This could reduce the attractiveness of links to your site, potentially resulting in fewer click-throughs from users of that service.

You can verify whether SerendeputyBot is respecting your robots.txt directives by monitoring your server logs after implementing the changes. If you're seeing continued access despite blocking directives, you may need to consider additional measures such as user-agent filtering at the server level.

SerendeputyBot