Harmonizing bookmarks structure

[sjehuda]

Good day, everyone!

I would want to have a discussion of standardizing bookmark databases/structures, including of extending them.

Projects with a common purpose

• buku
• omnom https://github.com/asciimoo/omnom @asciimoo
• Blasta https://git.xmpp-it.net/sch/Blasta
• linkding https://github.com/sissbruecker/linkding @sissbruecker
• Mynij https://nlnet.nl/project/Mynij/
• Postmill https://postmill.xyz/
• Shaarli https://github.com/shaarli/Shaarli @shaarli
• and many others...

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What are the most essential elements that bookmark databases should include?

[asciimoo]

Interesting idea. Could you explain why would it be beneficial to the projects/users?
The only thing that comes to my mind is easier migration between services, but it can be quickly solved by simple import/export command line tools and/or APIs.

[sjehuda]

Could you explain why would it be beneficial to the projects/users?

Of course.

Yes, that would be beneficial for migrating between software and services.

Easier sharing of data from any mean and software, regardles to the brand.

Issue

This is an issue that has happened some years ago: Some browser vendor has changed its database structure by removing the description field, and consequently all descriptions of databases were removed. Some people who did not expect that change and has lost their changes, were foisted to use that browser for months until they had found a viable alternative system.

Solution

It would also allow and easy integration, synchronization etc. with new services, without compromizing the integrity of bookmark databases.

XMPP

Considering XMPP as a synchronization platform, due to XEP-0060: Publish-Subscribe which allows to store data on XMPP account.

As I intend to work on a buku plugin for the browser Falkon, I further intend to add bookmarks, history and session synchronization for Falkon, and other browsers (e.g. Dillo, Ladybord, Otter Browser etc.), which would be based on a system which is similar to Blasta.

That is to say, to utilize XMPP accounts to synchronize browser session. No need for a new and special API. Everything is already taken care of by XMPP, including privacy.

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P.S. I did not even standartize Blasta, and since Omnom appears to provide more features than Blasta (e.g. snapshots), then I sense that starting to communicate about it as sooner be better than later.

[sjehuda]

I have added a couple of projects:

• linkding, an annotation system
• Postmil, a publishing platform which is similar to Lemmy.

I have notified project linkding

• Standartize structure of bookmarks sissbruecker/linkding#923

I have announced of my intention to be compatible with XMPP publishing systems such as Libervia and Movim

• https://mail.jabber.org/hyperkitty/list/[email protected]/thread/QPHHLQKQJBHOE4ZW5IQFVLNXXABH26DW/

I have wrote a post about it at my journal

• https://portal.mozz.us/gemini/woodpeckersnest.space/~schapps/journal/2025-01-06-blasta-libervia-and-movim.gmi
• gemini://woodpeckersnest.space/~schapps/journal/2025-01-06-blasta-libervia-and-movim.gmi

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Even though I was aware that HTML based annotation system is in fact a publishing system, I did not intend for Blasta to be absolutely compatible with publishing systems, yet the structure, of posts of Libervia and Movim which are based upon Atom Syndication Format, is identical by almost 100% if not by a 100%.

@asciimoo Because your system is compatible with ActivityPub, how close is it to be an optional publishing system?