Fossil SCM

Add notes to fileformat.wiki explaining why tags on forumpost artifacts should generally be applied to the first version of a post instead of an edited version.

stephan 2026-05-23 06:32 UTC forum-attachments
Commit 051af7e32301fb8fb3a87f6f2742e912f682939ab8f14cc49a4a45f84cb50c00
1 file changed +21 -6
--- www/fileformat.wiki
+++ www/fileformat.wiki
@@ -438,16 +438,19 @@
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<b>N</b> <i>mimetype</i><br />
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<b>U</b> <i>user-name</i><br />
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<b>Z</b> <i>checksum</i>
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</div>
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-The <b>A</b> card specifies a filename for the attachment in its first argument.
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-The second argument to the <b>A</b> card is the name of the wiki page,
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-ticket, technical note, or forum post to which the attachment is connected. The
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-third argument is either missing or else it is the lower-case artifact
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-ID of the attachment itself. A missing third argument means that the
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-attachment should be deleted.
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+The <b>A</b> card specifies a filename for the attachment in its first
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+argument. The second argument to the <b>A</b> card is the name of the
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+wiki page, ticket, technical note, or full hash of a forum post to
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+which the attachment is connected. The third argument is either
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+missing or else it is the lower-case artifact ID of the attachment
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+itself. A missing third argument means that the attachment should be
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+deleted. If <i>source</i> is a forum post, the hash provided should
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+generally be the hash of the first version of the post for reasons
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+[#forumpost-tag|explained below].
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The <b>C</b> card is an optional comment describing what the attachment is about.
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The <b>C</b> card is optional, but there can only be one.
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A single <b>D</b> card is required to give the date and time when the attachment
@@ -602,10 +605,22 @@
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The format of the <b>W</b> card is exactly the same as for a
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[#wikichng | wiki artifact].
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The <b>Z</b> card is the required checksum over the rest of the artifact.
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+<a name="forumpost-tag"></a>
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+<strong>Forum posts and tags:</strong>
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+
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+When adding [#ctrl|tags] to forum posts it is generally up to the
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+application to tag only the first version of any given post. For
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+example, if post X has two edits, a tag applied by the user to X+2
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+should generally be applied to version X instead. Though this
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+complicates the app logic for applying tags, it simplifies the app's
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+location of tags. As of this writing (May 2026), no current Fossil
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+use cases would be improved by tagging specific subsequent versions of
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+posts, e.g. our hypothetical X+1.
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+
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<h2 id="summary">3.0 Card Summary</h2>
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The following table summarizes the various kinds of cards that appear
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on Fossil artifacts. A blank entry means that combination of card and
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--- www/fileformat.wiki
+++ www/fileformat.wiki
@@ -438,16 +438,19 @@
438 <b>N</b> <i>mimetype</i><br />
439 <b>U</b> <i>user-name</i><br />
440 <b>Z</b> <i>checksum</i>
441 </div>
442
443 The <b>A</b> card specifies a filename for the attachment in its first argument.
444 The second argument to the <b>A</b> card is the name of the wiki page,
445 ticket, technical note, or forum post to which the attachment is connected. The
446 third argument is either missing or else it is the lower-case artifact
447 ID of the attachment itself. A missing third argument means that the
448 attachment should be deleted.
 
 
 
449
450 The <b>C</b> card is an optional comment describing what the attachment is about.
451 The <b>C</b> card is optional, but there can only be one.
452
453 A single <b>D</b> card is required to give the date and time when the attachment
@@ -602,10 +605,22 @@
602 The format of the <b>W</b> card is exactly the same as for a
603 [#wikichng | wiki artifact].
604
605 The <b>Z</b> card is the required checksum over the rest of the artifact.
606
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
607
608 <h2 id="summary">3.0 Card Summary</h2>
609
610 The following table summarizes the various kinds of cards that appear
611 on Fossil artifacts. A blank entry means that combination of card and
612
--- www/fileformat.wiki
+++ www/fileformat.wiki
@@ -438,16 +438,19 @@
438 <b>N</b> <i>mimetype</i><br />
439 <b>U</b> <i>user-name</i><br />
440 <b>Z</b> <i>checksum</i>
441 </div>
442
443 The <b>A</b> card specifies a filename for the attachment in its first
444 argument. The second argument to the <b>A</b> card is the name of the
445 wiki page, ticket, technical note, or full hash of a forum post to
446 which the attachment is connected. The third argument is either
447 missing or else it is the lower-case artifact ID of the attachment
448 itself. A missing third argument means that the attachment should be
449 deleted. If <i>source</i> is a forum post, the hash provided should
450 generally be the hash of the first version of the post for reasons
451 [#forumpost-tag|explained below].
452
453 The <b>C</b> card is an optional comment describing what the attachment is about.
454 The <b>C</b> card is optional, but there can only be one.
455
456 A single <b>D</b> card is required to give the date and time when the attachment
@@ -602,10 +605,22 @@
605 The format of the <b>W</b> card is exactly the same as for a
606 [#wikichng | wiki artifact].
607
608 The <b>Z</b> card is the required checksum over the rest of the artifact.
609
610 <a name="forumpost-tag"></a>
611 <strong>Forum posts and tags:</strong>
612
613 When adding [#ctrl|tags] to forum posts it is generally up to the
614 application to tag only the first version of any given post. For
615 example, if post X has two edits, a tag applied by the user to X+2
616 should generally be applied to version X instead. Though this
617 complicates the app logic for applying tags, it simplifies the app's
618 location of tags. As of this writing (May 2026), no current Fossil
619 use cases would be improved by tagging specific subsequent versions of
620 posts, e.g. our hypothetical X+1.
621
622
623 <h2 id="summary">3.0 Card Summary</h2>
624
625 The following table summarizes the various kinds of cards that appear
626 on Fossil artifacts. A blank entry means that combination of card and
627

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