tFormats Twitterformat Proposal
Syntax
@user /formats
Responses:
- List of supported formats (string), or
- URL to page with list of supported formats
Summary
The tFormats Twitterformat (e.g., @aral /formats) asks the referenced user's Twitter client for a list of supported Twitterformats. The client may return these either as a tweet (if only a few Twitter formats are supported), or (recommended) as a URL to a web page that lists the supported formats for the client.
Raison d'être
It is important for Twitterformats to be discoverable.
Due to the decentralized and community-driven nature of Twitterformats, Twitter clients will implement different subsets of Twitterformats proposals. Since Twitterformats are client-side, the vocabulary of a Twitter conversation between two people depends on which clients they are using at any given time. The tFormats Twitterformat asks a user's client for a list of the Twitterformats it supports.
Manual usage
The tFormats Twitterformat is simple enough to be authored manually by users. e.g.,
@aral /formats
In the above example, Aral's Twitter client will either reply with a tweet listing the Twitterformats it supports or with a URL to a web page that lists the same information.
Implementation guide for Twitter client authors
A. Authoring
- (Optional) Present a button on tweets that asks for the formats list from the author of the tweet.
B. Presentation
- (Optional) When a formats response is received that includes a URL, load and display the page/list.
License
This Twitterformat Proposal is released under a Creative Commons Attribution License.