diff --git a/packages/db/scripts/curate-ring.mjs b/packages/db/scripts/curate-ring.mjs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ec78a5c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/db/scripts/curate-ring.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+// Make or extend a curated ring from feed slugs, idempotently.
+//   node --env-file=<env> scripts/curate-ring.mjs <ring-slug> "<title>" "<description>" <feed-slug>...
+// Existing members keep their position; new slugs append; a slug the directory
+// does not have, or a feed with no site to link from, is reported and skipped.
+import { connect, nowIso } from '../index.js';
+
+const [slug, title, description, ...feedSlugs] = process.argv.slice(2);
+if (!slug || !title || !feedSlugs.length) {
+  console.error('usage: curate-ring.mjs <ring-slug> "<title>" "<description>" <feed-slug>...');
+  process.exit(2);
+}
+const db = connect();
+const now = nowIso();
+await db.execute({
+  sql: `insert into rings (slug, title, description, kind, topic_slug, accepts, public, created_at, updated_at)
+        values (?, ?, ?, 'curated', null, null, 1, ?, ?) on conflict (slug) do nothing`,
+  args: [slug, title, description || null, now, now],
+});
+const current = await db.execute({ sql: `select feed_id, position from ring_members where ring_slug = ?`, args: [slug] });
+const have = new Set(current.rows.map((r) => String(r.feed_id)));
+let position = current.rows.reduce((max, r) => Math.max(max, Number(r.position)), -1);
+for (const feedSlug of feedSlugs) {
+  const { rows } = await db.execute({ sql: `select id, slug, site_url, status from feeds where slug = ?`, args: [feedSlug] });
+  const feed = rows[0];
+  if (!feed) { console.log(`skip ${feedSlug}: not in the directory`); continue; }
+  if (!feed.site_url) { console.log(`skip ${feedSlug}: no site url`); continue; }
+  if (have.has(String(feed.id))) { console.log(`have ${feedSlug}`); continue; }
+  position += 1;
+  await db.execute({
+    sql: `insert into ring_members (ring_slug, feed_id, member_slug, position, site_url, status, joined_at)
+          values (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, 'pending', ?) on conflict (ring_slug, feed_id) do nothing`,
+    args: [slug, feed.id, feed.slug, position, feed.site_url, now],
+  });
+  console.log(`added ${feedSlug} at ${position}: ${feed.site_url} (${feed.status})`);
+}
+await db.execute({ sql: `update rings set updated_at = ? where slug = ?`, args: [now, slug] });
+const count = await db.execute({ sql: `select count(*) as n from ring_members where ring_slug = ?`, args: [slug] });
+console.log(`ring ${slug}: ${count.rows[0].n} members`);
diff --git a/packages/db/src/webrings.js b/packages/db/src/webrings.js
index 5d4caa1..ff8ff6a 100644
--- a/packages/db/src/webrings.js
+++ b/packages/db/src/webrings.js
@@ -333,6 +333,17 @@ export async function seedTopicRing(db, topicSlug, opts = {}) {
 /** A ring needs a subject; a slug this short is a stopword or a language code. */
 export const MIN_RING_TOPIC_LENGTH = 3;
 
+/**
+ * Category tags that are containers rather than subjects. Publishers file
+ * under these by default (WordPress's own is "uncategorized"), so they rank
+ * high and mean nothing; a ring of "uncategorized" is a ring of anything.
+ */
+export const RING_TOPIC_STOPLIST = new Set([
+  'uncategorized', 'uncategorised', 'general', 'misc', 'miscellaneous', 'other', 'others',
+  'blog', 'blogs', 'blogging', 'post', 'posts', 'article', 'articles', 'feed', 'rss', 'default',
+  'news-feed', 'updates', 'update', 'home', 'homepage', 'main', 'featured', 'all', 'various', 'random',
+]);
+
 /**
  * The topics worth a ring: the subjects publishers file themselves under.
  *
@@ -370,6 +381,7 @@ export async function topRingTopics(db, opts = {}) {
   const ranked = [];
   for (const r of rows) {
     const slug = String(r.slug);
+    if (RING_TOPIC_STOPLIST.has(slug)) continue;
     const counted = await db.execute({
       sql: `select count(*) as n
               from feed_keywords k indexed by feed_keywords_slug_idx
diff --git a/packages/db/test/webrings.test.js b/packages/db/test/webrings.test.js
index b22802c..74a25a9 100644
--- a/packages/db/test/webrings.test.js
+++ b/packages/db/test/webrings.test.js
@@ -246,11 +246,20 @@ test('ring topics come from what publishers file under, never the commonest word
   }
   await q.refreshTopics(db, 1);
 
+  for (const who of ['carol', 'alice', 'bob']) {
+    await db.execute({
+      sql: 'insert or ignore into feed_keywords (feed_id, slug, keyword, words, count, source) values (?, ?, ?, ?, ?, ?)',
+      args: [feeds[who].id, 'uncategorized', 'Uncategorized', 1, 40, 'category'],
+    });
+  }
+  await q.refreshTopics(db, 1);
+  assert.ok(webrings.RING_TOPIC_STOPLIST.has('uncategorized'));
+
   const top = await webrings.topRingTopics(db, { count: 5, minFeeds: 1 });
   assert.deepEqual(
     top.map((t) => t.slug),
     ['physics', 'chemistry'],
-    'physics has three linkable feeds filed under it, chemistry one; one is prose, de is too short',
+    'physics has three linkable feeds filed under it, chemistry one; one is prose, de is too short, uncategorized is a container',
   );
   assert.equal(top[0].feed_count, await webrings.topicRingSize(db, 'physics'), 'counted on the feeds a ring can use, not the rollup');