Add Developer Path: Implementing Commons Using ActivityPub, Groups, and Hashtags

Developer-Path%3A-Implementing-Commons-Using-ActivityPub%2C-Groups%2C-and-Hashtags.md

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+Developer Path: Implementing Commons Using ActivityPub, Groups, and Hashtags
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+We’re exploring how to use ActivityPub for federated, editable content in a "commons" structure. The aim is for data objects to be:
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+    Pushed by a user account,
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+    Placed in the commons,
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+    Editable by trusted groups,
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+    Organized by hashtags,
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+    Federated across instances.
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+This resembles a wiki-like system within ActivityPub, but with trust-grouped, hashtag-driven object flows. Groups as Commons? We likely don’t need traditional “groups” in the Facebook sense. Instead, collections of hashtags, and logic based on hashtags can act as implicit groups. 
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+Each object is still owned by a user? (for federation reasons?), but logically "shared" with others via inclusion in a "commons group". Q: Can a “group” just be a collection of hashtags with boolean logic applied? If so, the group becomes an object itself—recursively building a metadata mesh.
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+Q. Collections & storage? Collections are part of the core ActivityPub spec, but vague in meaning.         Some are ordered (e.g., outbox, followers). Others are unordered or conceptual. Collections seem to be API-level constructs, not strict data models. 
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+Q: Is this table structure scalable for thousands of hashtags/groups? The heavy lifting of flows can be handled by back-end logic.
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+Federation logic & edits, object ownership still belongs to the originating account/instance. Others in the trust group can edit via the ActivityPub Update verb. This is different from the usual Comment/Reply flow. The system needs history/versioning of objects like a wiki. 
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+Q: How does current Fediverse federation handle Update? Does it propagate changes cleanly? What do Lemmy, Peertube, etc. do here?
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+Metadata & hashtag logic, hashtags act as the primary organizing mechanism. We avoid enforcing a single tag; instead, instances can alias/group tags (e.g. treating #openweb, #4opens, #fediverse as equivalent in one context). This can be done by injecting additional hashtags via trust-logic (i.e., metadata layering). Injected hashtags must not appear as user-authored. Display should abstract hashtags in the UI - show clean flows, not cluttered tags.
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+Q: Do we need a better metadata field than hashtags? Or can we repurpose hashtags in a way that supports this abstraction?
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+Trust & authorization flows, only people in a trusted group can edit an object in the commons.   Others can view/comment but not edit. Trust flows are likely to diverge into subjective consensus spaces - and that’s fine.
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+Q: How is authorization defined and verified across instances? 
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+Templating & UX abstraction, hashtag chaos needs to be hidden (mediated) in the UI with templated displays. Instances could share templates for rendering object streams. We’ll need a UX spec for how to display, merge, or alias tags and flows.
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+Q: Can templates be federated or instance-local? What’s the minimum needed to keep UX in sync?
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+Scaling Considerations:
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+Everything becomes a data object: posts, groups, tags, users.
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+Each has their own flows, metadata, and permissions.
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+It gets meta and messy, but ActivityPub supports it in theory.
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+We need to measure early performance scaling under large flows and tag aliasing.
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+Q: What flows (hashtags, groups, trust edits) are most likely to create bottlenecks?
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+Developer Questions:
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+How are you currently handling group logic? Do you use ActivityPub collections or something custom?
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+How do you store and retrieve group-object relationships in the database?
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+Are hashtags treated as first-class group indicators?
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+How does your system manage Update verbs and object versioning?
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+Do we have support for metadata (like added hashtags) in a way that’s distinct from user-generated content?
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+How is authorization for edits determined and verified?
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+Can we understand how the system would scale with thousands of hashtag-defined groups and flows?
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+Need a session for mical to understand the template system for UX rendering of objects or flows?
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+Next Steps
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+Define minimal data schema: objects, groups, tags, flows, users.
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+Prototype Update logic with versioning.
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+Test tag-aliasing with injected metadata.
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+Write draft UX spec for hashtag/flow abstraction.
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+Implement basic trust-group logic using existing ActivityPub verbs.