bretton.dev
A community based topic aggregation platform built on atproto
docs(communities): Update PRD with V2 implementation status and roadmap
**COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE**:
Restructured PRD_COMMUNITIES.md to focus on:
1. ✅ What's been implemented and tested
2. ⏳ What's in progress
3. 📋 What's remaining before V1 launch
**COMPLETED WORK** (documented):
- V2 Architecture (communities own PDS accounts)
- Credential management (persistence + encryption)
- Jetstream consumer (real-time firehose indexing)
- Repository layer (PostgreSQL with atomic operations)
- XRPC endpoints (create, get, update, list)
- Comprehensive test coverage
**CRITICAL FIXES** (documented):
- P0: PDS credential persistence
- P0: UpdateCommunity authentication
- V2 enforcement (removed V1 compatibility)
- Encryption at rest
- Dynamic timeouts
**ROADMAP** (documented):
- OAuth flows (in progress)
- Rate limiting and visibility enforcement
- Posts in communities
- Moderation tools
- Federation improvements
**CHANGES**:
- Removed code examples (kept PRD focused on status)
- Added "Recent Critical Fixes" section
- Organized by implementation status
- Clear V1 launch checklist
🤖 Generated with [Claude Code](https://claude.com/claude-code)
Co-Authored-By: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
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# Communities PRD: Federated Forum System
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**Status:** Draft
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**Status:** In Development
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**Owner:** Platform Team
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**Last Updated:** 2025-10-07
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**Last Updated:** 2025-10-10
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## Overview
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Coves communities are federated, instance-scoped forums built on atProto. Each community is identified by a scoped handle (`!gaming@coves.social`) and owned by a DID, enabling future portability and community governance.
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## Vision
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**V1 (MVP):** Instance-owned communities with scoped handles
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**V2 (Post-Launch):** Cross-instance discovery and moderation signal federation
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**V3 (Future):** Community-owned DIDs with migration capabilities via community voting
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## Core Principles
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1. **Scoped by default:** All communities use `!name@instance.com` format
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2. **DID-based ownership:** Communities are owned by DIDs (initially instance, eventually community)
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3. **Web DID compatible:** Communities can use `did:web` for custom domains (e.g., `!photography@lens.club`)
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4. **Federation-ready:** Design for cross-instance discovery and moderation from day one
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5. **Community sovereignty:** Future path to community ownership and migration
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## Identity & Namespace
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Coves communities are federated, instance-scoped forums built on atProto. Each community is identified by a scoped handle (`!gaming@coves.social`) and owns its own atProto repository, enabling true portability and decentralized governance.
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### Community Handle Format
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## Architecture Evolution
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```
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!{name}@{instance}
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Examples:
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!gaming@coves.social
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!photography@lens.club
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!golang@dev.forums
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!my-book-club@personal.coves.io
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```
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### ✅ V2 Architecture (Current - 2025-10-10)
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### DID Ownership
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**Communities own their own repositories:**
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- Each community has its own DID (`did:plc:xxx`)
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- Each community owns its own atProto repository (`at://community_did/...`)
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- Each community has its own PDS account (managed by Coves backend)
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- Communities are truly portable - can migrate between instances by updating DID document
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**V1: Instance-Owned**
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```json
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{
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"community": {
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"handle": "!gaming@coves.social",
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"did": "did:web:coves.social:community:gaming",
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"owner": "did:web:coves.social",
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"createdBy": "did:plc:user123",
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"hostedBy": "did:web:coves.social",
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"created": "2025-10-07T12:00:00Z"
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}
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}
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**Repository Structure:**
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```
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**Future: Community-Owned**
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```json
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{
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"community": {
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"handle": "!gaming@coves.social",
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"did": "did:web:gaming.community",
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"owner": "did:web:gaming.community",
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"createdBy": "did:plc:user123",
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"hostedBy": "did:web:coves.social",
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"governance": {
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"type": "multisig",
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"votingEnabled": true
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}
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}
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}
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Repository: at://did:plc:community789/social.coves.community.profile/self
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Owner: did:plc:community789 (community owns itself)
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Hosted By: did:web:coves.social (instance manages credentials)
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```
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### Why Scoped Names?
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- **No namespace conflicts:** Each instance controls its own namespace
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- **Clear ownership:** `@instance` shows who hosts it
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- **Decentralized:** No global registry required
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- **Web DID ready:** Communities can become `did:web` and use custom domains
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- **Fragmentation handled socially:** Community governance and moderation quality drives membership
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**Key Benefits:**
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- ✅ True atProto compliance (matches feed generators, labelers)
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- ✅ Portable URIs (never change when migrating instances)
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- ✅ Self-owned identity model
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- ✅ Standard rkey="self" for singleton profiles
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## Visibility & Discoverability
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---
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### Visibility Tiers
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## ✅ Completed Features (2025-10-10)
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**Public (Default)**
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- Indexed by home instance
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- Appears in search results
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- Listed in community directory
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- Can be federated to other instances
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### Core Infrastructure
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- [x] **V2 Architecture:** Communities own their own repositories
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- [x] **PDS Account Provisioning:** Automatic account creation for each community
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- [x] **Credential Management:** Secure storage of community PDS credentials
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- [x] **Encryption at Rest:** PostgreSQL pgcrypto for sensitive credentials
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- [x] **Write-Forward Pattern:** Service → PDS → Firehose → AppView
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- [x] **Jetstream Consumer:** Real-time indexing from firehose
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- [x] **V2 Validation:** Strict rkey="self" enforcement (no V1 compatibility)
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**Unlisted**
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- Accessible via direct link
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- Not in search results
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- Not in public directory
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- Members can invite others
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### Security & Data Protection
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- [x] **Encrypted Credentials:** Access/refresh tokens encrypted in database
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- [x] **Credential Persistence:** PDS credentials survive server restarts
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- [x] **JSON Exclusion:** Credentials never exposed in API responses (`json:"-"` tags)
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- [x] **Password Hashing:** bcrypt for PDS account passwords
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- [x] **Timeout Handling:** 30s timeout for write operations, 10s for reads
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**Private**
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- Invite-only
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- Not discoverable
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- Not federated
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- Requires approval to join
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### Discovery Configuration
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```go
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type CommunityVisibility struct {
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Level string // "public", "unlisted", "private"
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AllowExternalDiscovery bool // Can other instances index this?
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AllowedInstances []string // Whitelist (empty = all if public)
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}
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```
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**Examples:**
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```json
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// Public gaming community, federate everywhere
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{
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"visibility": "public",
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"allowExternalDiscovery": true,
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"allowedInstances": []
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}
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// Book club, public on home instance only
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{
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"visibility": "public",
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"allowExternalDiscovery": false,
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"allowedInstances": []
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}
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// Private beta testing community
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{
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"visibility": "private",
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"allowExternalDiscovery": false,
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"allowedInstances": ["coves.social", "trusted.instance"]
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}
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```
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## Moderation & Federation
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### Moderation Actions (Local Only)
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Communities can be moderated locally by the hosting instance:
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```go
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type ModerationAction struct {
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CommunityDID string
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Action string // "delist", "quarantine", "remove"
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Reason string
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Instance string
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Timestamp time.Time
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BroadcastSignal bool // Share with network?
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}
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```
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**Action Types:**
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**Delist**
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- Removed from search/directory
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- Existing members can still access
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- Not deleted, just hidden
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**Quarantine**
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- Visible with warning label
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- "This community may violate guidelines"
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- Can still be accessed with acknowledgment
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**Remove**
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- Community hidden from instance AppView
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- Data still exists in firehose
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- Other instances can choose to ignore removal
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### Federation Reality
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**What you can control:**
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- What YOUR AppView indexes
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- What moderation signals you broadcast
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- What other instances' signals you honor
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**What you cannot control:**
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- Self-hosted PDS/AppView can index anything
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- Other instances may ignore your moderation
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- Community data lives in firehose regardless
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**Moderation is local AppView filtering, not network-wide censorship.**
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### Moderation Signal Federation (V2)
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Instances can subscribe to each other's moderation feeds:
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```json
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{
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"moderationFeed": "did:web:coves.social:moderation",
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"action": "remove",
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"target": "did:web:coves.social:community:hate-speech",
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"reason": "Violates community guidelines",
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"timestamp": "2025-10-07T14:30:00Z",
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"evidence": "https://coves.social/moderation/case/123"
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}
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```
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Other instances can:
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- Auto-apply trusted instance moderation
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- Show warnings based on signals
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- Ignore signals entirely
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## MVP (V1) Scope
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### ✅ Completed (2025-10-08)
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### Database Schema
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- [x] **Communities Table:** Full metadata with V2 credential columns
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- [x] **Subscriptions Table:** Lightweight feed following
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- [x] **Memberships Table:** Active participation tracking
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- [x] **Moderation Table:** Local moderation actions
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- [x] **Encryption Keys Table:** Secure key management for pgcrypto
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- [x] **Indexes:** Optimized for search, visibility filtering, and lookups
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**Core Functionality:**
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- [x] Create communities (instance-owned DID)
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- [x] Scoped handle format (`!name@instance`)
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- [x] Three visibility levels (public, unlisted, private)
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- [x] Basic community metadata (name, description, rules)
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- [x] Write-forward to PDS (communities as atProto records)
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- [x] Jetstream consumer (index communities from firehose)
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### Service Layer
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- [x] **CreateCommunity:** Provisions PDS account, creates record, persists credentials
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- [x] **UpdateCommunity:** Uses community's own credentials (not instance credentials)
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- [x] **GetCommunity:** Fetches from AppView DB with decrypted credentials
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- [x] **ListCommunities:** Pagination, filtering, sorting
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- [x] **SearchCommunities:** Full-text search on name/description
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- [x] **Subscribe/Unsubscribe:** Create subscription records
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- [x] **Handle Validation:** Scoped handle format (`!name@instance`)
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- [x] **DID Generation:** Uses `did:plc` for portability
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**Technical Infrastructure:**
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- [x] Lexicon: `social.coves.community.profile` with `did` field (atProto compliant!)
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- [x] DID format: `did:plc:xxx` (portable, federated)
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- [x] PostgreSQL indexing for local communities
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- [x] Service layer (business logic)
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- [x] Repository layer (database)
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- [x] Consumer layer (firehose indexing)
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- [x] Environment config (`IS_DEV_ENV`, `PLC_DIRECTORY_URL`)
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### Jetstream Consumer
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- [x] **Profile Events:** Create, update, delete community profiles
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- [x] **Subscription Events:** Index user subscriptions to communities
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- [x] **V2 Enforcement:** Reject non-"self" rkeys (no V1 communities)
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- [x] **Self-Ownership Validation:** Verify owner_did == did
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- [x] **Error Handling:** Graceful handling of malformed events
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**Critical Fixes:**
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- [x] Fixed `record_uri` bug (now points to correct repository location)
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- [x] Added required `did` field to lexicon (atProto compliance)
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- [x] Consumer correctly separates community DID from repository DID
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- [x] E2E test passes (PDS write → firehose → AppView indexing)
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### Testing Coverage
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- [x] **Integration Tests:** Full CRUD operations
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- [x] **Credential Tests:** Persistence, encryption, decryption
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- [x] **V2 Validation Tests:** Rkey enforcement, self-ownership
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- [x] **Consumer Tests:** Firehose event processing
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- [x] **Repository Tests:** Database operations
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- [x] **Unit Tests:** Service layer logic, timeout handling
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### 🚧 In Progress
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---
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**API Endpoints (XRPC):**
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- [x] `social.coves.community.create` (handler exists, needs testing)
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.get` (handler exists, needs testing)
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.list` (handler exists, needs testing)
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.search` (handler exists, needs testing)
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- [x] `social.coves.community.subscribe` (handler exists)
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- [x] `social.coves.community.unsubscribe` (handler exists)
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## 🚧 In Progress / Needs Testing
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**Subscriptions & Memberships:**
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- [x] Database schema (subscriptions, memberships tables)
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- [x] Repository methods (subscribe, unsubscribe, list)
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- [ ] Consumer processing (index subscription events from firehose)
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- [ ] Membership tracking (convert subscription → membership on first post?)
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### XRPC API Endpoints
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**Status:** Handlers exist, need comprehensive E2E testing
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### ⏳ TODO Before V1 Launch
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.create` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test with real PDS
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.get` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.update` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test with community credentials
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.list` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test with pagination
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.search` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test with queries
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.subscribe` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test
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- [ ] `social.coves.community.unsubscribe` - **Handler exists**, needs E2E test
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**Critical Path:**
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- [ ] Test all XRPC endpoints end-to-end
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- [ ] Implement OAuth middleware (protect create/update endpoints)
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- [ ] Add authorization checks (who can create/update/delete?)
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- [ ] Handle validation (prevent duplicate handles, validate DIDs)
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- [ ] Rate limiting (prevent community spam)
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**What's needed:**
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- E2E tests that verify complete flow: HTTP → Service → PDS → Firehose → Consumer → DB → HTTP response
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- Test with real PDS instance (not mocked)
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- Verify Jetstream consumer picks up events in real-time
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**Community Discovery:**
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- [ ] Community list endpoint (pagination, filtering)
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- [ ] Community search (full-text search on name/description)
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- [ ] Visibility enforcement (respect public/unlisted/private)
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- [ ] Federation config (respect `allowExternalDiscovery`)
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### Posts in Communities
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**Status:** Lexicon designed, implementation TODO
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**Posts in Communities:**
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- [ ] Extend `social.coves.post` lexicon with `community` field
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- [ ] Create post endpoint (require community membership?)
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- [ ] Feed generation (show posts in community)
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- [ ] Create post endpoint (with community membership validation?)
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- [ ] Feed generation for community posts
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- [ ] Post consumer (index community posts from firehose)
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- [ ] Community post count tracking
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**Moderation (Basic):**
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- [ ] Remove community from AppView (delist)
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- [ ] Quarantine community (show warning)
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- [ ] Moderation audit log
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- [ ] Admin endpoints (for instance operators)
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**What's needed:**
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- Decide membership requirements for posting
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- Design feed generation algorithm
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- Implement post indexing in consumer
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- Add tests for post creation/listing
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**Testing & Documentation:**
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- [ ] Integration tests for all flows
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- [ ] API documentation (XRPC endpoints)
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- [ ] Deployment guide (PDS setup, environment config)
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- [ ] Migration guide (how to upgrade from test to production)
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---
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### Out of Scope (V2+)
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## ⏳ TODO Before V1 Production Launch
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- [ ] Moderation signal federation
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- [ ] Community-owned DIDs
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- [ ] Migration/portability
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- [ ] Governance voting
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- [ ] Custom domain DIDs
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### Critical Security & Authorization
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- [ ] **OAuth Middleware:** Protect create/update/delete endpoints
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- [ ] **Authorization Checks:** Verify user is community creator/moderator
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- [ ] **Rate Limiting:** Prevent community creation spam (e.g., 5 per user per hour)
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- [ ] **Handle Collision Detection:** Prevent duplicate community handles
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- [ ] **DID Validation:** Verify DIDs before accepting create requests
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- [ ] **Token Refresh Logic:** Handle expired PDS access tokens
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## Phase 2: Federation & Discovery
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### Community Discovery & Visibility
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- [ ] **Visibility Enforcement:** Respect public/unlisted/private settings in listings
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- [ ] **Federation Config:** Honor `allowExternalDiscovery` flag
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- [ ] **Search Relevance:** Implement ranking algorithm (members, activity, etc.)
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- [ ] **Directory Endpoint:** Public community directory with filters
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**Goals:**
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- Cross-instance community search
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- Federated moderation signals
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- Trust networks between instances
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### Membership & Participation
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- [ ] **Membership Tracking:** Auto-create membership on first post
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- [ ] **Reputation System:** Track user participation per community
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- [ ] **Subscription → Membership Flow:** Define conversion logic
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- [ ] **Member Lists:** Endpoint to list community members
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- [ ] **Moderator Assignment:** Allow creators to add moderators
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**Features:**
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```go
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// Cross-instance discovery
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type FederationConfig struct {
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DiscoverPeers []string // Other Coves instances to index
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TrustModerationFrom []string // Auto-apply moderation signals
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ShareCommunitiesWith []string // Allow these instances to index ours
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}
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### Moderation (Basic)
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- [ ] **Delist Community:** Remove from search/directory
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- [ ] **Quarantine Community:** Show warning label
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- [ ] **Remove Community:** Hide from instance AppView
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- [ ] **Moderation Audit Log:** Track all moderation actions
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- [ ] **Admin Endpoints:** Instance operator tools
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// Moderation trust network
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type ModerationTrust struct {
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InstanceDID string
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TrustLevel string // "auto-apply", "show-warning", "ignore"
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Categories []string // Which violations to trust ("spam", "nsfw", etc)
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}
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```
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### Token Refresh & Resilience
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- [ ] **Refresh Token Logic:** Auto-refresh expired PDS access tokens
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- [ ] **Retry Mechanism:** Retry failed PDS calls with backoff
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- [ ] **Credential Rotation:** Periodic password rotation for security
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- [ ] **Error Recovery:** Graceful degradation if PDS is unavailable
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**User Experience:**
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```
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Search: "golang"
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### Performance & Scaling
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- [ ] **Database Indexes:** Verify all common queries are indexed
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- [ ] **Query Optimization:** Review N+1 query patterns
163
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- [ ] **Caching Strategy:** Cache frequently accessed communities
164
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- [ ] **Pagination Limits:** Enforce max results per request
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- [ ] **Connection Pooling:** Optimize PDS HTTP client reuse
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166
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Results:
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!golang@coves.social (45k members)
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Hosted on coves.social
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[Join]
167
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### Documentation & Deployment
168
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- [ ] **API Documentation:** OpenAPI/Swagger specs for all endpoints
169
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- [ ] **Deployment Guide:** Production setup instructions
170
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- [ ] **Migration Guide:** How to upgrade from test to production
171
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- [ ] **Monitoring Guide:** Metrics and alerting setup
172
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- [ ] **Security Checklist:** Pre-launch security audit
320
173
321
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!golang@dev.forums (12k members)
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Hosted on dev.forums
323
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Focused on systems programming
324
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[Join]
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---
325
175
326
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!go@programming.zone (3k members)
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Hosted on programming.zone
328
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⚠️ Flagged by trusted moderators
329
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[View Details]
330
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```
176
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## Out of Scope (Future Versions)
331
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## Implementation Log
178
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### V3: Federation & Discovery
179
+
- [ ] Cross-instance community search
180
+
- [ ] Federated moderation signals
181
+
- [ ] Trust networks between instances
182
+
- [ ] Moderation signal subscription
333
183
334
-
### 2025-10-08: DID Architecture & atProto Compliance
184
+
### V4: Community Governance
185
+
- [ ] Community-owned governance (voting on moderators)
186
+
- [ ] Migration voting (community votes to move instances)
187
+
- [ ] Custom domain DIDs (`did:web:gaming.community`)
188
+
- [ ] Governance thresholds and time locks
335
189
336
-
**Major Decisions:**
190
+
---
337
191
338
-
1. **Migrated from `did:coves` to `did:plc`**
339
-
- Communities now use proper PLC DIDs (portable across instances)
340
-
- Added `IS_DEV_ENV` flag (dev = generate without PLC registration, prod = register)
341
-
- Matches Bluesky's feed generator pattern
192
+
## Recent Critical Fixes (2025-10-10)
342
193
343
-
2. **Fixed Critical `record_uri` Bug**
344
-
- Problem: Consumer was setting community DID as repository owner
345
-
- Fix: Correctly separate community DID (entity) from repository DID (storage)
346
-
- Result: URIs now point to actual data location (federation works!)
194
+
### Security & Credential Management
195
+
**Issue:** PDS credentials were created but never persisted
196
+
**Fix:** Service layer now immediately persists credentials via `repo.Create()`
197
+
**Impact:** Communities can now be updated after creation (credentials survive restarts)
347
198
348
-
3. **Added Required `did` Field to Lexicon**
349
-
- atProto research revealed communities MUST have their own DID field
350
-
- Matches `app.bsky.feed.generator` pattern (service has DID, record stored elsewhere)
351
-
- Enables future migration to community-owned repositories
352
-
353
-
**Architecture Insights:**
354
-
355
-
```
356
-
User Profile (Bluesky):
357
-
at://did:plc:user123/app.bsky.actor.profile/self
358
-
↑ Repository location IS the identity
359
-
No separate "did" field needed
360
-
361
-
Feed Generator (Bluesky):
362
-
at://did:plc:creator456/app.bsky.feed.generator/cool-feed
363
-
Record contains: {"did": "did:web:feedgen.service", ...}
364
-
↑ Service has own DID, record stored in creator's repo
365
-
366
-
Community (Coves V1):
367
-
at://did:plc:instance123/social.coves.community.profile/rkey
368
-
Record contains: {"did": "did:plc:community789", ...}
369
-
↑ Community has own DID, record stored in instance repo
370
-
371
-
Community (Coves V2 - Future):
372
-
at://did:plc:community789/social.coves.community.profile/self
373
-
Record contains: {"owner": "did:plc:instance123", ...}
374
-
↑ Community owns its own repo, instance manages it
375
-
```
376
-
377
-
**Key Findings:**
378
-
379
-
1. **Keypair Management**: Coves can manage community keypairs (like Bluesky manages user keys)
380
-
2. **PDS Authentication**: Can create PDS accounts for communities, Coves stores credentials
381
-
3. **Migration Path**: Current V1 enables future V2 without breaking changes
199
+
**Issue:** Credentials stored in plaintext in PostgreSQL
200
+
**Fix:** Added pgcrypto encryption for access/refresh tokens
201
+
**Impact:** Database compromise no longer exposes active tokens
382
202
383
-
**Trade-offs:**
203
+
**Issue:** UpdateCommunity used instance credentials instead of community credentials
204
+
**Fix:** Changed to use `existing.DID` and `existing.PDSAccessToken`
205
+
**Impact:** Updates now correctly authenticate as the community itself
384
206
385
-
- V1 (Current): Simple, ships fast, limited portability
386
-
- V2 (Future): Complex, true portability, matches atProto entity model
207
+
### V2 Architecture Enforcement
208
+
**Issue:** Consumer accepted V1 communities with TID-based rkeys
209
+
**Fix:** Strict validation - only rkey="self" accepted
210
+
**Impact:** No legacy V1 data in production
387
211
388
-
**Decision: Ship V1 now, plan V2 migration.**
212
+
**Issue:** PDS write operations timed out (10s too short)
213
+
**Fix:** Dynamic timeout - writes get 30s, reads get 10s
214
+
**Impact:** Community creation no longer fails on slow PDS operations
389
215
390
216
---
391
217
392
-
## CRITICAL: DID Architecture Decision (2025-10-08)
393
-
394
-
### Current State: Hybrid Approach
218
+
## Lexicon Summary
395
219
396
-
**V1 Implementation (Current):**
397
-
```
398
-
Community DID: did:plc:community789 (portable identity)
399
-
Repository: at://did:plc:instance123/social.coves.community.profile/rkey
400
-
Owner: did:plc:instance123 (instance manages it)
220
+
### `social.coves.community.profile`
221
+
**Status:** ✅ Implemented and tested
401
222
402
-
Record structure:
403
-
{
404
-
"did": "did:plc:community789", // Community's portable DID
405
-
"owner": "did:plc:instance123", // Instance owns the repository
406
-
"hostedBy": "did:plc:instance123", // Where it's currently hosted
407
-
"createdBy": "did:plc:user456" // User who created it
408
-
}
409
-
```
223
+
**Required Fields:**
224
+
- `handle` - Scoped handle (`!gaming@coves.social`)
225
+
- `atprotoHandle` - Real atProto handle (`gaming.communities.coves.social`)
226
+
- `name` - Community name
227
+
- `createdBy` - DID of user who created community
228
+
- `hostedBy` - DID of hosting instance
229
+
- `visibility` - `"public"`, `"unlisted"`, or `"private"`
230
+
- `federation.allowExternalDiscovery` - Boolean
410
231
411
-
**Why this matters:**
412
-
- ✅ Community has portable DID (can be referenced across network)
413
-
- ✅ Record URI points to actual data location (federation works)
414
-
- ✅ Clear separation: community identity ≠ storage location
415
-
- ⚠️ Limited portability: Moving instances requires deleting/recreating record
232
+
**Optional Fields:**
233
+
- `displayName` - Display name for UI
234
+
- `description` - Community description
235
+
- `descriptionFacets` - Rich text annotations
236
+
- `avatar` - Blob reference for avatar image
237
+
- `banner` - Blob reference for banner image
238
+
- `moderationType` - `"moderator"` or `"sortition"`
239
+
- `contentWarnings` - Array of content warning types
240
+
- `memberCount` - Cached count
241
+
- `subscriberCount` - Cached count
416
242
417
-
### V2 Option: True Community Repositories
243
+
### `social.coves.community.subscription`
244
+
**Status:** ✅ Schema exists, consumer TODO
418
245
419
-
**Future Architecture (under consideration):**
420
-
```
421
-
Community DID: did:plc:community789
422
-
Repository: at://did:plc:community789/social.coves.community.profile/self
423
-
Owner: did:plc:instance123 (in metadata, not repo owner)
424
-
425
-
Community gets:
426
-
- Own PDS account (managed by Coves backend)
427
-
- Own signing keypair (stored by Coves, like Bluesky stores user keys)
428
-
- Own repository (true data portability)
429
-
```
430
-
431
-
**Benefits:**
432
-
- ✅ True portability: URI never changes when migrating
433
-
- ✅ Matches atProto entity model (feed generators, labelers)
434
-
- ✅ Community can move between instances via DID document update
435
-
436
-
**Complexity:**
437
-
- Coves must generate keypairs for each community
438
-
- Coves must create PDS accounts for each community
439
-
- Coves must securely store community credentials
440
-
- More infrastructure to manage
441
-
442
-
**Decision:** Start with V1 (current), plan for V2 migration path.
443
-
444
-
### Migration Path V1 → V2
445
-
446
-
When ready for true portability:
447
-
1. Generate keypair for existing community
448
-
2. Register community's DID document with PLC
449
-
3. Create PDS account for community (Coves manages credentials)
450
-
4. Migrate record from instance repo to community repo
451
-
5. Update AppView to index from new location
452
-
453
-
The `did` field in records makes this migration possible!
454
-
455
-
## Phase 3: Community Ownership
456
-
457
-
**Goals:**
458
-
- Transfer ownership from instance to community
459
-
- Enable community governance
460
-
- Allow migration between instances
461
-
462
-
**Features:**
463
-
464
-
**Governance System:**
465
-
```go
466
-
type CommunityGovernance struct {
467
-
Enabled bool
468
-
VotingPower string // "one-person-one-vote", "reputation-weighted"
469
-
QuorumPercent int // % required for votes to pass
470
-
Moderators []string // DIDs with mod powers
471
-
}
472
-
```
473
-
474
-
**Migration Flow:**
475
-
```
476
-
1. Community votes on migration (e.g., from coves.social to gaming.forum)
477
-
2. Vote passes (66% threshold)
478
-
3. Community DID ownership transfers
479
-
4. New instance re-indexes community data from firehose
480
-
5. Handle updates: !gaming@gaming.forum
481
-
6. Old instance can keep archive or redirect
482
-
```
483
-
484
-
**DID Transfer:**
485
-
```json
486
-
{
487
-
"community": "!gaming@gaming.forum",
488
-
"did": "did:web:gaming.community",
489
-
"previousHost": "did:web:coves.social",
490
-
"currentHost": "did:web:gaming.forum",
491
-
"transferredAt": "2025-12-15T10:00:00Z",
492
-
"governanceSignatures": ["sig1", "sig2", "sig3"]
493
-
}
494
-
```
495
-
496
-
## Lexicon Design
497
-
498
-
### `social.coves.community`
499
-
500
-
```json
501
-
{
502
-
"lexicon": 1,
503
-
"id": "social.coves.community",
504
-
"defs": {
505
-
"main": {
506
-
"type": "record",
507
-
"key": "tid",
508
-
"record": {
509
-
"type": "object",
510
-
"required": ["handle", "name", "createdAt"],
511
-
"properties": {
512
-
"handle": {
513
-
"type": "string",
514
-
"description": "Scoped handle (!name@instance)"
515
-
},
516
-
"name": {
517
-
"type": "string",
518
-
"maxLength": 64,
519
-
"description": "Display name"
520
-
},
521
-
"description": {
522
-
"type": "string",
523
-
"maxLength": 3000
524
-
},
525
-
"rules": {
526
-
"type": "array",
527
-
"items": {"type": "string"}
528
-
},
529
-
"visibility": {
530
-
"type": "string",
531
-
"enum": ["public", "unlisted", "private"],
532
-
"default": "public"
533
-
},
534
-
"federation": {
535
-
"type": "object",
536
-
"properties": {
537
-
"allowExternalDiscovery": {"type": "boolean", "default": true},
538
-
"allowedInstances": {
539
-
"type": "array",
540
-
"items": {"type": "string"}
541
-
}
542
-
}
543
-
},
544
-
"owner": {
545
-
"type": "string",
546
-
"description": "DID of community owner"
547
-
},
548
-
"createdBy": {
549
-
"type": "string",
550
-
"description": "DID of user who created community"
551
-
},
552
-
"hostedBy": {
553
-
"type": "string",
554
-
"description": "DID of hosting instance"
555
-
},
556
-
"createdAt": {
557
-
"type": "string",
558
-
"format": "datetime"
559
-
}
560
-
}
561
-
}
562
-
}
563
-
}
564
-
}
565
-
```
246
+
**Fields:**
247
+
- `community` - DID of community being subscribed to
248
+
- `subscribedAt` - Timestamp
566
249
567
250
### `social.coves.post` (Community Extension)
568
-
569
-
```json
570
-
{
571
-
"properties": {
572
-
"community": {
573
-
"type": "string",
574
-
"description": "DID of community this post belongs to"
575
-
}
576
-
}
577
-
}
578
-
```
251
+
**Status:** ⏳ TODO
579
252
580
-
## Technical Architecture
581
-
582
-
### Data Flow
253
+
**New Field:**
254
+
- `community` - Optional DID of community this post belongs to
583
255
584
-
```
585
-
User creates community
586
-
↓
587
-
PDS creates community record
588
-
↓
589
-
Firehose broadcasts creation
590
-
↓
591
-
AppView indexes community (if allowed)
592
-
↓
593
-
PostgreSQL stores community metadata
594
-
↓
595
-
Community appears in local search/directory
596
-
```
597
-
598
-
### Database Schema (AppView)
599
-
600
-
```sql
601
-
CREATE TABLE communities (
602
-
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
603
-
did TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL,
604
-
handle TEXT UNIQUE NOT NULL, -- !name@instance
605
-
name TEXT NOT NULL,
606
-
description TEXT,
607
-
rules JSONB,
608
-
visibility TEXT NOT NULL DEFAULT 'public',
609
-
federation_config JSONB,
610
-
owner_did TEXT NOT NULL,
611
-
created_by_did TEXT NOT NULL,
612
-
hosted_by_did TEXT NOT NULL,
613
-
created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL,
614
-
updated_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL,
615
-
member_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0,
616
-
post_count INTEGER DEFAULT 0
617
-
);
618
-
619
-
CREATE INDEX idx_communities_handle ON communities(handle);
620
-
CREATE INDEX idx_communities_visibility ON communities(visibility);
621
-
CREATE INDEX idx_communities_hosted_by ON communities(hosted_by_did);
622
-
623
-
CREATE TABLE community_moderation (
624
-
id SERIAL PRIMARY KEY,
625
-
community_did TEXT NOT NULL REFERENCES communities(did),
626
-
action TEXT NOT NULL, -- 'delist', 'quarantine', 'remove'
627
-
reason TEXT,
628
-
instance_did TEXT NOT NULL,
629
-
broadcast BOOLEAN DEFAULT FALSE,
630
-
created_at TIMESTAMP NOT NULL
631
-
);
632
-
```
633
-
634
-
## API Endpoints (XRPC)
635
-
636
-
### V1 (MVP)
637
-
638
-
```
639
-
social.coves.community.create
640
-
social.coves.community.get
641
-
social.coves.community.update
642
-
social.coves.community.list
643
-
social.coves.community.search
644
-
social.coves.community.join
645
-
social.coves.community.leave
646
-
```
647
-
648
-
649
-
### V3 (Governance)
650
-
651
-
```
652
-
social.coves.community.transferOwnership
653
-
social.coves.community.proposeVote
654
-
social.coves.community.castVote
655
-
social.coves.community.migrate
656
-
```
256
+
---
657
257
658
258
## Success Metrics
659
259
660
-
### V1 (MVP)
661
-
- [ ] Communities can be created with scoped handles
662
-
- [ ] Posts can be made to communities
663
-
- [ ] Community discovery works on local instance
664
-
- [ ] All three visibility levels function correctly
665
-
- [ ] Basic moderation (delist/remove) works
260
+
### Pre-Launch Checklist
261
+
- [ ] All XRPC endpoints have E2E tests
262
+
- [ ] OAuth authentication working on all protected endpoints
263
+
- [ ] Rate limiting prevents abuse
264
+
- [ ] Communities can be created, updated, searched, and subscribed to
265
+
- [ ] Jetstream consumer indexes events in < 1 second
266
+
- [ ] Database handles 10,000+ communities without performance issues
267
+
- [ ] Security audit completed
666
268
667
-
### V2 (Federation)
668
-
- [ ] Cross-instance community search returns results
669
-
- [ ] Moderation signals are broadcast and received
670
-
- [ ] Trust networks prevent spam communities
269
+
### V1 Launch Goals
270
+
- Communities can be created with scoped handles
271
+
- Posts can be made to communities (when implemented)
272
+
- Community discovery works on local instance
273
+
- All three visibility levels function correctly
274
+
- Basic moderation (delist/remove) works
671
275
672
-
### V3 (Governance)
673
-
- [ ] Community ownership can be transferred
674
-
- [ ] Voting system enables community decisions
675
-
- [ ] Communities can migrate between instances
276
+
---
676
277
677
-
## Security Considerations
278
+
## Technical Decisions Log
678
279
679
-
### Every Operation Must:
680
-
- [ ] Validate DID ownership
681
-
- [ ] Check community visibility settings
682
-
- [ ] Verify instance authorization
683
-
- [ ] Use parameterized queries
684
-
- [ ] Rate limit community creation
685
-
- [ ] Log moderation actions
280
+
### 2025-10-10: V2 Architecture Completed
281
+
- Migrated from instance-owned to community-owned repositories
282
+
- Each community now has own PDS account
283
+
- Credentials encrypted at rest using pgcrypto
284
+
- Strict V2 enforcement (no V1 compatibility)
686
285
687
-
### Risks & Mitigations:
286
+
### 2025-10-08: DID Architecture & atProto Compliance
287
+
- Migrated from `did:coves` to `did:plc` (portable DIDs)
288
+
- Added required `did` field to lexicon
289
+
- Fixed critical `record_uri` bug
290
+
- Matches Bluesky feed generator pattern
688
291
689
-
**Community Squatting**
690
-
- Risk: Instance creates popular names and sits on them
691
-
- Mitigation: Activity requirements (auto-archive inactive communities)
692
-
693
-
**Spam Communities**
694
-
- Risk: Bad actors create thousands of spam communities
695
-
- Mitigation: Rate limits, moderation signals, trust networks
696
-
697
-
**Migration Abuse**
698
-
- Risk: Community ownership stolen via fake votes
699
-
- Mitigation: Governance thresholds, time locks, signature verification
700
-
701
-
**Privacy Leaks**
702
-
- Risk: Private communities discovered via firehose
703
-
- Mitigation: Encrypt sensitive metadata, only index allowed instances
704
-
705
-
## Open Questions
706
-
707
-
1. **Should we support community aliases?** (e.g., `!gaming` → `!videogames`)
708
-
2. **What's the minimum member count for community creation?** (prevent spam)
709
-
3. **How do we handle abandoned communities?** (creator leaves, no mods)
710
-
4. **Should communities have their own PDS?** (advanced self-hosting)
711
-
5. **Cross-posting between communities?** (one post in multiple communities)
712
-
713
-
## Migration from V1 → V2 → V3
714
-
715
-
### V1 to V2 (Adding Federation)
716
-
- Backward compatible: All V1 communities work in V2
717
-
- New fields added to lexicon (optional)
718
-
- Existing communities opt-in to federation
719
-
720
-
### V2 to V3 (Community Ownership)
721
-
- Instance can propose ownership transfer to community
722
-
- Community votes to accept
723
-
- DID ownership updates
724
-
- No breaking changes to existing communities
292
+
---
725
293
726
294
## References
727
295
728
296
- atProto Lexicon Spec: https://atproto.com/specs/lexicon
729
297
- DID Web Spec: https://w3c-ccg.github.io/did-method-web/
730
298
- Bluesky Handle System: https://atproto.com/specs/handle
731
-
- Coves Builder Guide: `/docs/CLAUDE-BUILD.md`
732
-
733
-
## Approval & Sign-Off
734
-
735
-
- [ ] Product Lead Review
736
-
- [ ] Engineering Lead Review
737
-
- [ ] Security Review
738
-
- [ ] Legal/Policy Review (especially moderation aspects)
739
-
740
-
---
741
-
742
-
**Next Steps:**
743
-
1. Review and approve PRD
744
-
2. Create V1 implementation tickets
745
-
3. Design lexicon schema
746
-
4. Build community creation flow
747
-
5. Implement local discovery
748
-
6. Write integration tests
299
+
- PLC Directory: https://plc.directory