If you add the "indexable" flag in your ActivityPub actor profile, which content search engines can index your content and show it in search results?docs.joinmastodon.org/spec/act#EvanPoll #poll #ActivityPub #Mastodon #ContentSearch #Search

47% All
43% All except those you opted out of
9% Only those you additionally opted into
1% Other (please specify)
68 votes - ended 2 months ago

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[–] [S] 1 point 2 months ago (4 children)

Thanks to everyone who responded to the poll.It seems like there's a common expectation that enabling "indexable" makes your content available for indexing without additional opt-in to a specific server. This is how Mastodon and other Fediverse servers treat the flag; if you've got the indexable flag set, your public content is indexed for full-text search. (Even if the indexable flag is not set, if you use a hashtag in your post, it's indexed for hashtag search.)

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 months ago (3 children)

    IANAL, TINLA, BTW.I think search engines, including Mastodon search, should also include an opt-out for their specific engine. You should be able to have an "every search engine except these ones" policy. That can be implemented with blocks, maybe, or could happen by logging into the search engine interface and switching on a "don't index me" checkbox.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 months ago (2 children)

    A small minority of people seem to think that setting the indexable flag on your account doesn't enable search by any remote server -- you have to intentionally opt into each server, one by one. That's not how Mastodon treats it; it seems like a mistaken apprehension at this point.

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  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 months ago (1 child)

    Setting the indexable flag, and using blocks or opt-out signals, is a "denylist" permission structure; "everyone except these enumerated servers".I don't think we have a good mechanism for an "allowlist" structure; "only these enumerated servers". If I were making a search engine, I'd have a way for someone to opt in manually, even if their "indexable" flag was missing or false.

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