In cybersecurity, there’s no shortage of Discord servers, Slack groups, or “exclusive” communities. Most are loud, surface-level, or built around hype. Many start with good intentions but eventually collapse into noise, ego, or screenshot collectors silently extracting value without giving anything back.

/Dev/Null Tavern was created to be the opposite of that.

It’s a small, curated Discord community for practicing security professionals red teamers, blue teamers, researchers, malware developers, and builders who want to grow, share, collaborate, and stay sharp. It is not a marketplace, not a business funnel, and not a “content group.” It’s a tavern, a quiet corner where real work is discussed honestly, respectfully, and without posturing.

Why I Created /Dev/Null Tavern

I didn’t create this group to “lead a community” or to build some massive Discord with thousands of people I never speak to. I created Dev/Null Tavern because I got tired of courses, copy-paste labs, and recycled content. I realized the most valuable learning I’ve had in my career didn’t come from structured training, it came from conversations with real practitioners sharing real experiences.

I value that a lot more than polished slides and step-by-step labs.

I wanted a safe environment where people can talk openly about what they’re learning, what they’re building, what they’re struggling with, without ego, competition, or performative knowledge. A place where skill level doesn’t matter, only mindset does. If you’re curious, humble, and willing to learn and share, you belong here.

I also wanted connection not just names on a member list. I want to build trust, familiarity, and history with the people here. I want to be able to look back years from now and see how far we’ve grown together.

In the Tavern, we have members with different specialties:

  • Some focus on Web Application Pentesting
  • Some are deep into Malware Development
  • Some are passionate about Active Directory + Internal Network environments

Seeing how people with different backgrounds think has been one of the most valuable parts. In the past few months alone, I’ve learned more from these conversations than from most formal material.

I genuinely believe it’s easier to stay sharp and motivated when you’re surrounded by a trusted circle who challenge, support, and inspire you.
That’s what /Dev/Null Tavern is for.

What Happens Inside

The Tavern isn’t about “dropping secret sauce” or giving away techniques that cost time and effort to develop. Instead, it’s about:

  • Sharing insights, resources, findings, and lessons learned.
  • Brainstorming approaches to difficult problems.
  • Learning from each other’s experiments, not just successes.
  • Helping each other think differently.

Sometimes the smallest detail, a misconfiguration, a behavioral quirk, a one-liner can shift the way someone approaches an entire class of attacks.

Those details only appear when people feel they’re among peers they can trust.

Work Email Requirement & Trust

This community is curated intentionally.

We ask for a work or professional email when onboarding.
Not to market, spam, or track anyone, but simply as a trust anchor.
It signals credibility, authenticity, and real involvement in the field.

Inspired by communities like:

  • Initial Access Guild (IAG)
  • BreakDev

We follow the same principle:
Small circle. Real practitioners. No noise.

If you’re selected, we’ll contact you via your work email with the Discord invite link. No mailing lists, no announcements, no newsletters — just one message and that’s it.

Contribution & Participation

To get, you must give, even if only a little.

This doesn’t mean constant posting. We all have jobs, work, life, relationships, burnout, downtime.

Contribution can be as small as:

  • A link to a blog or talk
  • A simple script or concept
  • A problem you’re stuck on
  • A method that worked or didn’t
  • A thoughtful question

If you know you’ll be quiet for a while, just let an admin know beforehand.
Silence with communication is fine.
Silence with no communication is how communities die.

How to Join

We’re keeping the Tavern small and intentional.

If this resonates with you, you can apply here:

👉 https://forms.gle/pbzdwHbc4Cdd9XHs6

If you’re selected, you’ll be contacted via your work email with the invite.

Closing Thoughts

Cybersecurity grows through people who are curious enough to break things, humble enough to learn, and generous enough to share.

If that sounds like you —
pull up a chair.
The tavern’s door is open.

– sz
Founder of /Dev/Null Tavern
squarezero.dev