[Feature Request] Reintroduction of the ‘Article’ content type in
Pubcrawl
I still don't really understand why the option introduced in version 9.0 to send posts of the “Article” content type (‘
Messages are now sent as articles instead of notes - this can be configured for activitypub 9.0’) was completely discarded.
Of course, there were good reasons not to send posts compulsively and fundamentally as ‘articles’, because Mastodon in particular (but also other services that have adopted Mastodon's specifications) simply displays such content in a crappy way (title plus link to the original). That's why the Pubcrawl add-on introduced the option for a channel to behave as it did before when sending, i.e. to send posts of the content type ‘Note’.
This on-off option was perhaps the only drawback, because it generally worked... i.e. either ALWAYS as “article” or ALWAYS as ‘note’.
Due to problems with interaction, especially with Mastodon, this feature was discarded in version 9.0.1, only a short time later (‘
default to Note activity type for now 9.0.1’). The switch for the option remained, but was set to “Note” by default, and removing the ‘check mark’ no longer changed the behaviour; the content type remained ‘Note’.
Finally, the option (which was no longer an option) was permanently removed in version 10.4 (‘
remove unused force note setting 10.4’).
Is this the final decision or will it be on the table for a long time? I would be disappointed if it were the former.
It's not good to give in to ‘blackmailers’! And Mastodon is doing just that with its crappy display of “articles”. And because of its ‘power’ as a widely used system.
Personally, I don't like being forced by others to refrain from behaviour that I consider correct.
Mastodon is a microblogging service. And that's perfectly fine. If that's enough for you, then you'll be happy with it. And it's Mastodon's prerogative to only display posts of the ‘note’ type in full. It's also their prerogative to limit posts of the ‘article’ type to the title and a link to the original. Their service, their rules.
Hubzilla, on the other hand, is a macroblogging service in terms of its Fediverse capabilities and, in particular, its AP connectivity. And that's why Hubzilla has every right to send posts of the ‘article’ type. And optionally also posts of the ‘note’ type (to keep other services happy).
But it has submitted to the dictates of Mastodon and its followers.
The feature and the option just needed a little more ‘care’ to make everyone happy.
The general default setting for the content type was unfortunate. It didn’t take into account the actual content and form of different posts.
With (streams) and Forte, posts are now generally sent as ‘notes’ unless they consist of several paragraphs. If there are several paragraphs, the content type is changed to ‘article’ without the user having to do anything (and unfortunately also without the user being able to do anything about it).
It's an option... but I'm not thrilled about it either. Even in the paltry 500 characters of a typical microblogging post (or 1,000 or a few more), it's perfectly possible to include ‘paragraphs’. A double line break between two sentences... and a very short post is sent out as an ‘article’... with all the disadvantages this entails in terms of display on ‘Mastodon-like services’.
My idea and suggestion would be not to tie this to ‘paragraphs’ or post length, but to make it selectable for each post.
The ‘ActivityPub Protocol’ app should have an option:
☐ Posts are always sent with the content type “Article”.
☐ Posts are always sent with the content type ‘Note’.
Note: The content type can be changed for each post in the editor on a case-by-case basis.
And then there should be a selection field (dropdown or whatever) in the post editor:
- Send as ‘article’.
- Send as ‘note’.
The default type set in the AP option is highlighted, i.e. preselected.
This would help everyone. Those who prefer Hubzilla, similar to TwiXter (or Mastodon), primarily for short, content-poor (😉 no offence intended 😜) staccato-style communication, or who mainly have contacts on channels of such services, should (in principle) select the ‘Note’ type as the default and not have to worry about it. However, they have the option of writing a longer post and sending it as an ‘article’ (which is actually the correct way to do it)... if they want to.
But if you use Hubzilla more as a macroblogging service and don't care that ‘Mastodon-like services’ don't display posts in their entirety, you should select ‘Article’ as your default setting. If they then want to post something short that will also be displayed on these short message services, they can select this option when posting.
I would consider this useful and important, especially because ‘long-form posts’ are currently receiving more attention on the various services... Probably because Bonfire has finally ‘invented’ the long-form post (they're all reinventing the wheel anyway) and will then also send such posts as ‘articles’ (they probably don't care about the poor display on other services)... and Mitra will surely follow suit soon.
This would allow us to adhere to AP standards and not submit to the pseudo-standard of a single service.
At least, that's what I would like to see... and I'm allowed to wish for something... after all, it's my birthday tomorrow (don't ask me how old I'm getting... I recently found sand in my trouser pocket and feel like ivy is growing on my back 😂).
