Founding Principles

Explore Moor should be honest about the process of trying to build a better future.

That means sharing:

• the research
• the uncertainty
• the learning
• the changes of direction
• the slow progress
• the difficult bits where appropriate
• the hopeful bits too

But honesty does not mean every private thing has to become public.

Explore Moor should not pretend to have all the answers.

It can share what we are learning, what we think, what we are testing, and what might change.

If we are still figuring something out, we should say so. If we change our minds, we should be able to explain why. If a plan is only a plan, it should not be dressed up as a guarantee.

This is a personal story involving family, caring, health, home life, animals, and real responsibilities.

Explore Moor must protect the privacy and dignity of the people around the story.

Explore Moor should welcome thoughtful discussion, questions, encouragement, curiosity, and different perspectives.

But comments, replies, emails, DMs, or social interactions should not become a place for:

• cruelty
• harassment
• transphobia
• ableism
• personal attacks
• mockery of family, health, caring, or identity
• demands for private information
• pile-ons or drama

People are welcome to disagree. They are not welcome to dehumanise.

Explore Moor should not post just to feed algorithms.

Some updates may be reflective. Some practical. Some emotional. Some tiny. But the aim is to offer something useful, honest, interesting, comforting, or worth thinking about.

Examples:

• what we are learning about boat life
• what we are learning about building Narrow & Wide
• what did or did not work
• useful resources
• research notes
• real costs and trade-offs
• reflections from rural Wales
• what it means to build while caring
• the small moments that make the journey feel human

Explore Moor can share research and opinions without pretending to be the final authority.

We can share what we find, what we think, what we are trying, and what we are questioning. That is different from pretending to be experts in everything we touch.

This includes:

• boating research
• waterways learning
• AI, code, and tools
• content creation
• Substack
• YouTube
• building a small business
• trying to understand what a better future could look like

Explore Moor and Narrow & Wide are connected, but they are not the same thing.

Explore Moor is the human story behind the work.
Narrow & Wide is the practical platform growing from that work.

You can follow the story, use the tools, or move between both.

Explore Moor should not be a trick to push people into buying something.

Narrow & Wide should not pretend to be a personal diary.

The story gives the work meaning. The platform gives the work shape.

Narrow & Wide and Explore Moor are connected projects from Moor & More Studio, created by Millie Carter.

Explore Moor may eventually include:

• Substack growth
• YouTube monetisation
• Patreon or membership
• sponsorships
• affiliate links
• brand partnerships
• ads
• ways to support the project

This should be handled clearly and honestly.

If something is sponsored, paid, gifted, affiliated, or financially connected, that should be made clear.

Explore Moor can become financially sustainable without becoming noisy, manipulative, or false.

That means:

• no fake urgency
• no pretending ads are personal recommendations
• no hiding sponsorships
• no content designed only to chase outrage
• no turning every personal moment into a sales opportunity

Explore Moor does not need to look like a media company on day one.

It can start with:

• Substack posts
• notes
• videos
• updates
• research
• behind-the-scenes reflections
• simple links
• honest progress

Small does not mean unserious. Slow does not mean failing.

Explore Moor should be allowed to grow and change.

As the project develops, these principles may need to evolve, especially if we add:

• comments
• memberships
• Patreon
• sponsorships
• more video content
• collaborations
• public submissions
• community features

But the foundation should stay the same:
honesty, usefulness, kindness, boundaries, and trust.