✨ ActivityPub actions
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docs/HOW_TO_FOLLOW_FEDIVERSE_USERS.md
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docs/HOW_TO_FOLLOW_FEDIVERSE_USERS.md
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# How to Follow (Subscribe to) Fediverse Users in Solar Network
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## Overview
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In ActivityPub terminology, "subscribing" to a user is called **"following"**. This guide explains how users in Solar Network can follow users from other federated services (Mastodon, Pleroma, etc.).
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## User Guide: How to Follow Fediverse Users
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### Method 1: Via Search (Recommended)
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1. **Search for the user**:
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- Type their full address in the search bar: `@username@domain.com`
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- Example: `@alice@mastodon.social`
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- Example: `@bob@pleroma.site`
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2. **View their profile**:
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- Click on the search result
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- You'll see their profile, bio, and recent posts
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3. **Click "Follow" button**:
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- Solar Network sends a Follow activity to their instance
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- The remote instance will send back an Accept
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- The user now appears in your "Following" list
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### Method 2: Via Profile URL
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1. **Visit their profile directly**:
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- If you know their profile URL, visit it directly
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- Example: `https://mastodon.social/@alice`
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2. **Look for "Follow" button**:
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- Click it to follow
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3. **Confirm the follow**:
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- Solar Network will send the follow request
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- Wait for acceptance (usually immediate)
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## What Happens Behind the Scenes
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### The Follow Flow
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```
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User clicks "Follow"
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↓
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Solar Network creates Follow Activity
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↓
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Solar Network signs with publisher's private key
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↓
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Solar Network sends to remote user's inbox
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↓
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Remote instance verifies signature
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↓
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Remote instance processes the Follow
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↓
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Remote instance sends Accept Activity back
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↓
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Solar Network receives and processes Accept
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↓
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Relationship is established!
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```
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### Timeline Integration
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Once you're following a user:
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- ✅ Their public posts appear in your "Home" timeline
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- ✅ Their posts are federated to your followers
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- ✅ Their likes, replies, and boosts are visible
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- ✅ You can interact with their content
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## Following Different Types of Accounts
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### Individual Users
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- **What**: Regular users like you
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- **Example**: `@alice@mastodon.social`
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- **Works**: ✅ Full support
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### Organizational/Bot Accounts
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- **What**: Groups, bots, or organizations
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- **Example**: `@official@newsbot.site`
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- **Works**: ✅ Full support
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### Locked Accounts
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- **What**: Users who manually approve followers
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- **Example**: `@private@pleroma.site`
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- **Works**: ✅ Follow request sent, waits for approval
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## Managing Your Follows
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### View Who You're Following
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**API Endpoint**: `GET /api/activitypub/following`
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**Response Example**:
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```json
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{
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"users": [
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{
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"actorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice",
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"username": "alice",
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"displayName": "Alice Smith",
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"bio": "I love tech and coffee! ☕",
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"avatarUrl": "https://cdn.mastodon.social/avatars/...",
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"followedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
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"isLocal": false,
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"instanceDomain": "mastodon.social"
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}
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]
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}
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```
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### Unfollowing Someone
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**API Endpoint**: `POST /api/activitypub/unfollow`
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**Request Body**:
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```json
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{
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"targetActorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice"
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}
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```
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**Response**:
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```json
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{
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"success": true,
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"message": "Unfollowed successfully"
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}
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```
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## Searching Fediverse Users
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**API Endpoint**: `GET /api/activitypub/search?query=@username@domain.com`
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**Response Example**:
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```json
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{
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"users": [
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{
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"actorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice",
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"username": "alice",
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"displayName": "Alice Smith",
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"bio": "Software developer | Mastodon user",
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"avatarUrl": "https://cdn.mastodon.social/avatars/...",
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"isLocal": false,
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"instanceDomain": "mastodon.social"
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}
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]
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}
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```
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## Follow States
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| State | Meaning | What User Sees |
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|--------|---------|----------------|
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| Pending | Follow request sent, waiting for response | "Following..." (loading) |
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| Accepted | Remote user accepted | "Following" ✓ |
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| Rejected | Remote user declined | "Follow" button available again |
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| Failed | Error occurred | "Error following" message |
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## Privacy & Visibility
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### Public Posts
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- ✅ Federate to your followers automatically
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- ✅ Appear in remote instances' timelines
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- ✅ Can be boosted/liked by remote users
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### Private Posts
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- ❌ Do not federate
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- ❌ Only visible to your local followers
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- ❌ Not sent to remote instances
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### Unlisted Posts
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- ⚠️ Federate but not in public timelines
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- ⚠️ Only visible to followers
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## Best Practices for Users
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### When Following Someone
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1. **Check their profile first**:
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- Make sure they're who you think they are
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- Read their bio to understand their content
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2. **Start with a few interactions**:
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- Like a few posts
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- Reply to something interesting
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- Don't overwhelm their timeline
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3. **Respect their instance's rules**:
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- Each instance has its own guidelines
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- Read community rules before interacting
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4. **Report spam/harassment**:
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- Use instance blocking features
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- Report to instance admins
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### Following Across Instances
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1. **Use their full address**:
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- `@username@instance.com`
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- This helps identify which instance they're on
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2. **Be aware of instance culture**:
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- Each instance has its own norms
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- Some are more technical, others more casual
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3. **Check if they're from your instance**:
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- Local users show `isLocal: true`
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- Usually faster interaction
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## Troubleshooting
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### "Follow button doesn't work"
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**Possible Causes**:
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1. User doesn't exist
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2. Instance is down
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3. Network issue
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**Solutions**:
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1. Verify the user's address is correct
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2. Check if the instance is accessible
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3. Check your internet connection
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4. Try again in a few minutes
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### "User doesn't appear in Following list"
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**Possible Causes**:
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1. Follow was rejected
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2. Still waiting for acceptance (locked accounts)
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3. Error in federation
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**Solutions**:
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1. Check the follow status via API
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2. Try following again
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3. Check if their account is locked
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4. Contact support if issue persists
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### "Can't find a user"
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**Possible Causes**:
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1. Wrong username or domain
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2. User doesn't exist
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3. Instance blocking your instance
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**Solutions**:
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1. Double-check the address
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2. Try searching from a different instance
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3. Contact the user directly for their handle
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## API Reference
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### Follow a Remote User
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**Endpoint**: `POST /api/activitypub/follow`
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**Request**:
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```json
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{
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"targetActorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice"
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}
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```
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**Response**: `200 OK`
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```json
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{
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"success": true,
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"message": "Follow request sent. Waiting for acceptance.",
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"targetActorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice"
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}
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```
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### Get Following List
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**Endpoint**: `GET /api/activitypub/following?limit=50`
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**Response**: `200 OK`
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```json
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{
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"users": [
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{
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"actorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice",
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"username": "alice",
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"displayName": "Alice Smith",
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"bio": "...",
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"avatarUrl": "...",
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"followedAt": "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z",
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"isLocal": false,
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"instanceDomain": "mastodon.social"
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}
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]
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}
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```
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### Get Followers List
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**Endpoint**: `GET /api/activitypub/followers?limit=50`
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**Response**: `200 OK`
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```json
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{
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"users": [
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{
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"actorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice",
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"username": "alice",
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"displayName": "Alice Smith",
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"bio": "...",
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"avatarUrl": "...",
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"isLocal": false,
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"instanceDomain": "mastodon.social"
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}
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]
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}
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```
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### Search Users
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**Endpoint**: `GET /api/activitypub/search?query=alice&limit=20`
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**Response**: `200 OK`
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```json
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{
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"users": [
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{
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"actorUri": "https://mastodon.social/users/alice",
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"username": "alice",
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"displayName": "Alice Smith",
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"bio": "...",
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"avatarUrl": "...",
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"isLocal": false,
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"instanceDomain": "mastodon.social"
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}
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]
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}
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```
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## What's Different About ActivityPub Following?
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Unlike traditional social media:
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| Feature | Traditional Social | ActivityPub |
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|---------|------------------|-------------|
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| Central server | ✅ Yes | ❌ No - federated |
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| All users on same platform | ✅ Yes | ❌ No - multiple platforms |
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| Blocked instances | ❌ No | ✅ Yes - instance blocking |
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| Following across platforms | ❌ No | ✅ Yes - works with Mastodon, Pleroma, etc. |
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| Your data stays on your server | ❌ Maybe | ✅ Yes - you control your data |
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## User Experience Considerations
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### Making It Easy
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1. **Auto-discovery**:
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- When users search for `@username`, suggest `@username@domain.com`
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- Offer to search the fediverse
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2. **Clear UI feedback**:
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- Show "Follow request sent..."
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- Show "They accepted!" notification
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- Show "Follow request rejected" message
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3. **Helpful tooltips**:
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- Explain what ActivityPub is
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- Show which instance a user is from
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- Explain locked accounts
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4. **Profile badges**:
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- Show instance icon/logo
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- Show if user is from same instance
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- Show if user is verified
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## Examples
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### Following a Mastodon User
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**User searches**: `@alice@mastodon.social`
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**What happens**:
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1. Solar Network fetches Alice's actor profile
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2. Solar Network stores Alice in `fediverse_actors`
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3. Solar Network sends Follow to Alice's inbox
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4. Alice's instance accepts
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5. Solar Network stores relationship in `fediverse_relationships`
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6. Alice's posts now appear in user's timeline
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### Following a Local User
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**User searches**: `@bob`
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**What happens**:
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1. Solar Network finds Bob's publisher
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2. Relationship created locally (no federation needed)
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3. Bob's posts appear in user's timeline immediately
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4. Same as traditional social media following
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## Summary
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Following fediverse users in Solar Network:
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1. **Search by `@username@domain.com`** - Works for any ActivityPub instance
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2. **Click "Follow"** - Sends federated follow request
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3. **Wait for acceptance** - Remote user can approve or auto-accept
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4. **See their posts in your timeline** - Content federates to you
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5. **Interact normally** - Like, reply, boost, etc.
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All of this is handled automatically by the ActivityPub implementation!
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Reference in New Issue
Block a user