diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9de80d5..6663cd4 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -11,3 +11,12 @@ onto shared webhosting.
 ## automatix
 
 Ensure you set `bundlewrap: true` in your `~/.automatix.cfg.yaml`.
+
+## system naming
+
+All systems should be named after their location and use.
+
+For example, influxdb hosted at hetzner cloud will be `htz-cloud.influxdb`.
+
+The only exception to this are name servers, they are named after [demons
+in fiction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_demons_in_fiction).