Re: Meta Unspools Threads

So, I thought I’d come in with my own wishlist for Meta and Threads participating in this group and the AP and AS2 standards.

Implement bi-directional, deny-list following. There’s a lot in there! But ideally a threads.net <http://threads.net/> account should work like any other account on the fediverse — you should be able to follow anyone anywhere, and they should be able to follow you back. Any asymmetry, or use of an allow list (only allow followers/following from pre-approved domains) would set a bad precedent for the social web.
Use a namespace for extensions. Most implementations have added extension properties or flows, and my guess is that Threads will be no exception. JSON-LD has a mechanism for using a separate namespace for extension properties and types, and it can be really helpful if you use that mechanism.
Graceful fallback behaviour for extensions. Ideally, threads.net <http://threads.net/> should have graceful fallbacks if their custom extensions aren’t supported by other servers on the network.
Document and standardize extensions. A key part! As extension properties or flows are developed, they should be documented here — preferably before release, but at least sometime after release.
Report bugs. As issues come up in the threads.net <http://threads.net/> implementation of AP, it would be great to hear about them so we can fix them with errata, extensions, and/or a future version of the standard.
Be kind to smaller nodes. At least for now ;-) threads.net <http://threads.net/> will be the biggest node on the network by a few orders of magnitude. Please implement back-end practices like caching and exponential backoff to prevent overwhelming smaller nodes.
Test with multiple server implementations. Testing with Mastodon should get you pretty far, but it would be great if you can also test with some other implementations. There’s a good list <https://fedidb.org/software> of the most popular ones on fedidb.org <http://fedidb.org/>.
Don’t test on the live network. It sounds basic, but you’d be surprised how many implementors test their software by following unwitting Mastodon users with test accounts. Please use virtual servers in your labs to do testing!
Participate here. It is so great to have you here. I hope we can count on your presence at calls and in-person meetings of the group.
Bring partners here. Once threads.net <http://threads.net/> opens up to the fediverse, there will be third-party companies who want to establish bilateral partnerships with Meta. It would be a huge benefit if those third parties were using open standards to interact with threads.net, and they were also participating in the SocialCG.

I hope that gives some food for thought for what all implementors should try to do. Thanks for being open to feedback!

Evan