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[EN] Reply to lyse about twtxt

Hey Lyse, thanks for taking the time to look into this!

https://darch.dk/timeline/post/w7qc4ra

To give more context, these ideas started with, "How would I create a twtxt spec from scratch without worrying about retro-compatibility with current clients?"

Sorry for not following all the discussions around twtxt 2.0; perhaps you've already suggested something similar, or even something entirely different. No hard feelings from my side if that's the case :)

1. Metadata

We already have the replying Hash and mentions URL as a sort of metadata

(#nvrq7lq) Righto, @<eapl.me https://eapl.me/twtxt.txt>

So I think that idea could be extended for what people might expect from other microblogging platforms (per Jakob's UX Law)

Jakob’s Law

2. Twt ID

Initially, I considered using the date as a unique ID, but the spec doesn’t specify it as unique, nor does it explain what would happen if two twts had the exact same timestamp.

If the date is unique enough, I don't see the need for a counter, assuming the date won’t change when you edit the twt. I agree with you on this!

3. How yarnd requests files

Thanks! I think that explanation could be documented somewhere as a reference for future clients and potentially for servers like Apache or Nginx.

And perhaps it's usage could be suggested in the twtxt spec as well, as an implementation recommendation.

4. Discovery URLs

I don’t understand how the discovery URLs should work to replace the User-Agent header in HTTP(S) requests. Could you elaborate?

Sure! From my research, Gemini (and likely Gopher as well) don’t have a similar header, so if a client is using those protocols, they won’t be able to inform your server.

So, it’s worth considering, would twtxt 2.0 only support HTTP/S?

5. Support for different protocols

Different protocols are basically just a client thing.

Agreed, though different URLs need to be indicated somewhere, so it’s not always as simple as changing the protocol.

6. Different Languages

I’d definitely create a separate feed for each language.

I did the same:

https://eapl.me/twtxt.txt
https://eapl.mx/twtxt.txt

That said, coming from platforms like X and Masto, where switching languages is easy, I naturally read content and write into my timeline in at least three languages. Changing my "account" is not a simple as switching languages, and in those platforms have another meaning ("I'm a different person"). Supporting that would be beneficial for some, though I’m not sure how many would use it.

7. Emojis in CLI Clients

Isn’t the emoji thing "just" a client feature?

I agree. My suggestion would be to recommend a default emoji for the client to use, like the alien emoji in Station and some other text based sites, like Gemini's BBS.

EOT

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