Discovery

Listsome instances discover content from other instances through a simple blogroll model. No scraping, no complex federation - just subscribe to feeds you trust.

How Discovery Works

The Blogroll Model

A blogroll is a curated list of instances you follow. When you add an instance to your blogroll:

1. Your instance subscribes to their RSS feed
2. New content appears in your aggregated feed
3. You can search across all aggregated content

Think of it like RSS reader subscriptions, but managed by your instance instead of a third party.

Key Principles

• Explicit consent - You choose who you follow
• No inbox complexity - Just RSS feed fetching
• Decentralized - Each instance operates independently
• Your data stays yours - Aggregated content is cached locally

Managing Your Blogroll

Adding an Instance

1. Go to the Federation page
2. Enter the domain of the instance you want to follow
3. Click “Follow” to add to your blogroll
4. Your instance will start fetching their RSS feed

Removing an Instance

1. Go to the Federation page
2. Find the instance in your blogroll
3. Click “Unfollow” to remove
4. Their content will be removed from your aggregated feed

Discovery vs. Federation

Discovery (Current Implementation)

• Model: Blogroll + RSS aggregation
• Protocol: RSS feeds only
• Complexity: Low
• Privacy: Your instance fetches their public feed
• Example: Adding diy.example.com to follow their tutorials

Federation (Future)

• Model: ActivityPub social features
• Protocol: ActivityPub inbox/outbox
• Complexity: High (HTTP signatures, verification)
• Privacy: Direct instance-to-instance communication
• Example: Mastodon-style following with social interactions

For now, discovery through RSS feeds is the focus. Federation features may be added later.

Finding Instances

Ways to Discover Listsome Instances

• Direct sharing - Someone shares their instance URL with you
• Community lists - Future: a registry of public instances
• Word of mouth - Indie web communities, maker forums
• RSS discovery - Find blogs/tutorials you like and check if they use listsome

What to Look For

• Content topics that interest you
• Active instances with regular updates
• Community engagement and moderation
• Quality of existing aggregated content

Content Aggregation

How It Works

1. You add an instance to your blogroll
2. Your instance fetches their RSS feed
3. New items are stored in your database
4. Content appears in your timeline and search results
5. Original source is preserved for attribution

Updating Content

• Your instance checks for new content periodically
• Existing content is updated if changed
• Deleted content is handled gracefully

Privacy Considerations

What Others Can See

• Your instance domain (when you follow them)
• Public RSS feed content (what you already get from RSS)

What Others Cannot See

• Your admin credentials
• Other instances in your blogroll
• Your local-only content
• Server logs (if you configure logging carefully)

Discovery Best Practices

Building Your Blogroll

• Quality over quantity - Follow instances with content you actually want
• Trust the source - Only follow instances you find trustworthy
• Stay organized - Regularly review and clean up your blogroll
• Check activity - Follow active instances with regular updates

Discovering New Content

• Start with interests - Find topics you care about
• Follow curators - Find instances that curate good content
• Branch out - When you find good content, explore their sources

Next Steps

• Your Blogroll - Add or remove followed instances
• Timeline - View aggregated content from followed instances
• Search - Find content across your aggregated feed

💡 Pro Tip: Think of your blogroll as a curated reading list for DIY content. Add instances that consistently publish content you find valuable.