3575fc337d
A port of the existing user manual over to reStructuredText and using Sphinx to generate the documentation to see if it would be a suitable replacement for the existing php generated method.
155 lines
5.6 KiB
ReStructuredText
155 lines
5.6 KiB
ReStructuredText
Hashtags and Groups
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===================
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Tags
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----
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On GNU social you will sometimes see words with a ``#`` or a ``!`` in front of
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them. The first is a hashtag; the second is a group. They are both ways of
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linking together posts that relate to the same topic. They work in different
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ways.
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.. _hashtags:
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Hashtags
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--------
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Using hashtags
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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If you put a ``#`` in front of a word like ``#this`` then that word becomes a
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clickable link. When you click it you are shown messages from everyone that
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contain that same hashtag. It allows you to quickly find others who were
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posting about the same topic, or to bring your post to the attention of those
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who are watching the tag. Twitter turned the concept into a household name and
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it's now a staple of microblogging.
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/typing-hashtag.png
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:alt: Typing a hashtag in a post
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:align: center
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Click on the link in a post to see all posts that include the tag:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/showing-hashtag.png
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:alt: Browsing a hashtag stream
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:align: center
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Note that this cannot show posts from the entire GNU social network. This
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limitation is explained more in the next section.
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For network-wide conversations about particular topics, see the section about
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:ref:`groups`. Groups perform a similar function to hashtags and they use a
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``!`` instead of a ``#``.
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The limited reach of hashtags
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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Hashtags are somewhat limited in GNU social because your server does not have a
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complete view of the network. Suppose your server has 10 accounts on it.
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Obviously it knows about every post that those 10 people make. If each person
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follows 10 different people on remote servers, that's 100 extra people. All
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together your server knows about the posts from 110 accounts.
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If you click on a hashtag on your server, it's only ever possible to see posts
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from those 110 people.
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Note also that hashtags are linked to the server where you posted. If your
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account is on quitter.no and you use the tag ``#newyearseve``, anyone who
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clicks on it will see quitter.no's list. If somebody on quitter.se uses the
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same tag, clicking on that tag will show you quitter.se's list. These lists
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might be different because each server has a different view of the network.
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The GNU social federation has lots of benefits but you can see that it makes
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hashtags a little complicated. :ref:`groups` are a popular alternative that are
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more reliable.
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Hashtag subscriptions
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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You can subscribe to hashtags on your own server. This means that any time your
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server sees a post containing the hashtag, that post will appear in your *Home*
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timeline regardless of whether you normally follow the person who sent it.
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The button to subscribe appears when you click on a hashtag. Note that this is
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not visible if you are using Qvitter (i.e. any of the "quitter" servers). You
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can access it by switching to the "classic" mode.
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/showing-hashtag.png
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:alt: Browsing a hashtag stream
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:align: center
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Once you are subscribed, not only will those posts appear in your home
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timeline, but you will also get quick access to the tag in your left menu. From
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there you can unsubscribe again.
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/subscribed-tag.png
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:alt: Subscribed to a hashtag
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:align: center
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.. _groups:
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Groups
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------
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Joining groups
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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A group is effectively a noticeboard hosted on a particular server. If you join
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as a member of a group you can post messages to it by including a group tag.
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Every time a member makes a post to the group it is submitted to the hosting
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server. The hosting server then passes it on to all the members. This means
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that if you join you are guaranteed to see every post in your Home timeline.
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This is different from subscribing to :ref:`hashtags`, which are shown on a
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best-effort basis.
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You will probably first notice a group in your timeline as a link you can
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click:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/group-in-timeline.png
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:alt: A group in a timeline
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:align: center
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Clicking on the word ``!tinsel`` takes you to the group page on the hosting
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server. If you want to join the group, click the Join button:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-join-button.png
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:alt: Join group button
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:align: center
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You can also browse groups on your server by clicking on the Groups menu item:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-menu-item.png
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:alt: Groups in the left menu in stock GNU social
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:align: center
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To post a message to the group, first ensure you have joined. Then use its
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nickname inside your post, like ``!tinsel``.
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Creating groups
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
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If you want to start a new group on your own server then you can do that. Click
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on Groups in the menu item and then click the *Create a new group* link:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-create-button.png
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:alt: Link to create a new group
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:align: center
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You will have to fill in some initial information about the new group, like
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this:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-create-form.png
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:alt: Form for creating a new group
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:align: center
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Once the group is created, anyone who has joined can post to it by using its
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nickname (``!tinsel``) or any of its aliases (``!sparkly``).
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You will start off as the single administrator of the group. When you visit the
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group page on your server you will have links to edit settings and set a logo.
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-administration.png
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:alt: Group admin page
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:align: center
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To make another user an admin of the group, click the relevant button next to
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them:
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.. image:: ../../resources/user/groups-make-admin.png
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:alt: Making another user a group admin
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:align: center
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