FAQ

How is the caret ^ used?

Currently the caret is currently used by the microblogging app TentStatus to mention people. To mention someone on the same server as you, just write their username: ^daniel. To mention someone on a different server, use their full entity URL: ^https://daniel.tent.is.

At the protocol level, carets denote mentions inline. Apps are free to use any mention character(s) they wish on the front-end, but, at least in Status psts, they must denote mentions in the content part of the JSON with the caret, followed by the name, followed by the index number of the mention in the mentions array. If you are mentioning https://jeena.net, who is the first person in the mentions array, you would do this inline with ^[Jeena](0). The name area can say anything (Jeena could be J, Jeen, dude, etc.)

See the inline mentions section of this page for details about mention metadata.

See the previous discussion on the mailing list about this.

When I mention someone, what happens?

No matter what, people who are mentioned in a post will receive a notification with a complete copy of the post.

The privacy settings on that post do not matter for this action to take place. Mentions are a notification feature, not a permission control.

I just followed someone. Why aren't their posts in my timeline?

When you follow someone, you get their new posts from that point on, but you don't get old posts from before you started following. Likewise, if you unfollow someone, their posts from while you followed them stay in your timeline, but you won't get any new ones.

Actually your server stores the entire post, and yes you do have the ability to delete them individually. tent-status doesn't currently support this.

If someone's server goes offline, will I lose their posts forever?

For every post that has ever been in your timeline, your server doesn't just hold a link to it, it also holds the content. If that person's server disappears for whatever reason, you will still see their posts.

How can existing sites make use of the Tent protocol?

Tent can be used just as a sign-in system, for full data-storage, or anywhere in between.

Does the Site Feed show posts from all Tent users?

Since Tent is decentralized, there are many Tent servers. Each of those Tent servers can provide a Site Feed that will show all posts from all people hosted on that server. In this way, a Tent server will have a feeling of community.

Many of your friends and acquaintances will be on their own servers. In order to see their posts, you must FOLLOW them. Once you follow them, you will receive copies of the public posts they create.