[Feature] Link Content Focus Standard #121
Description
Problem
When creating a publication with LINK as the mainContentFocus the API doesn't currently specify how to identify the link being shared. For this reason, clients like Lenster assume the first URL in the content is the focus and automatically show rich previews of those links. This is not ideal because the post body may contain multiple links but there's no way for the user to specify which one is the primary focus.
I'm working on Focalize, a browser extension for Lens that allows you to quickly share the URL of the tab you're currently on. It uses open graph meta tags to pre-populate the body. Here's an example of when it goes wrong, sharing from YouTube:
When viewing this post on Lenster it will appear that the focus is the shoprobuilder.com link and not the YouTube one.
Proposal
I'd like to propose establishing a standard for identifying the URL. Using a separate field has the following benefits:
- Removes ambiguity over the actual focus of a
LINKpublication. - Allows for querying based on the URL shared
- Removes the requirement of having a (potentially long and ugly) URL in the body of the content.
The external_url field seems like a natural fit, but perhaps something entirely new should be used since that field is already used in various inconsistent ways.
I have an idea for a Focalize feature where the user is shown other posts that have already shared the URL they're currently viewing. Imagine reading something on Medium and getting an unobtrusive notification telling you "This article is being discussed in 3 posts on Lens".