This post has two main purposes in my mind: write an idea down, in case I find myself able to return to it; put the idea “out there,” in case anyone else wants to pick it up and run with it.

About a year ago I had the nebulous idea for a simple directory built around webmention:

  • sites would add themselves by creating a post which sends a webmention to the directory.
  • The directory would retrieve and parse the post to retrieve site name, base url, feed links, etc.
  • Any tags and categories marked with p-category would be used for directory classification and organisation.
  • There would be a simple administrative queue for approvals and data cleanup (parsing errors and the like). Sites wouldn’t appear until they were approved.
  • Site owners could preview what an unapproved directory listing would look like by signing in with IndieAuth. They’d also be able to delist themselves/make changes (also possible through webmention).

I never had a chance to get further than very initial experiments with this, so I’m wondering if I should just let the domain (indieweb.directory) expire in a couple of days, or renew it “just in case.” I can’t see me having any extra free time this year to actually do something with the idea.

🔖 Bookmarked:

This is really cool, and could be a great Discovery tool. I’ve had an idea kicking around my head for something similar; a directory of sorts, where sites opt-in via webmention. Any p-category tags in the webmention post would be used to classify the listing in the directory, allowing people to find sites by groupings. Add in some sort of Technorati-style search for an extra layer of power.

I’m teaching myself Laravel at the moment… this would make a good first project to prototype, I think.