Re: Meta Unspools Threads

> Mastodon doesn’t support quote posts (yet, it’s coming), so we’d like to
discuss how to model those when we send them outbound

I can't guarantee anything right now, but there is currently the idea that
they should be a special type of reply, for the following reasons:

- Semantically, they are almost always a response to the post being quoted.
- Making them replies allows for them to piggyback off of reply controls.
- The fallback of being shown as a normal reply is better than the fallback
of not being shown at all, or being shown as a disconnected post entirely.¹

So less of a "quote boost" / "boost with comment" and more of a "quote
reply" / "reply with context preview"². Mastodon could then change its feed
filtering to insert such posts into home feeds, even if you don't follow
the person being quoted. Other software like Pleroma already shows all
replies in timelines, regardless of whether you follow the person being
replied to. (Akkoma makes it an option.)

¹ Side note about FEP-e232: FEP-e232 still allows for the "RE: url"
microsyntax to be associated with an activitypub object, just like the
"@mention" microsyntax gets associated with a Mention or the "#hashtag"
microsyntax gets associated with a Hashtag. These are all signalled via the
`name` property. Additionally, the various `rel` "quote" link relations
signal that it should be treated as a Misskey/Fedibird "quote". The exact
definition and semantics of a "misskey quote" depends on the Misskey
project.

² The word "quote" or "quote post" needs to be defined strictly in terms of
functionality, and more than one definition is possible. In a generic
sense, you may be using one or several "quotes" in a forum sense, where
some fragment is cited within your body content. This is altogether
different than a "quote" being a preview of someone else's post above or
below your post. The former actually could be better suited to being
handled by FEP-e232, as that FEP deals with the content of your post rather
than something external to your post.