[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #40031: Consider Adding Web Annotations to WordPress

Sat Mar 4 21:26:07 UTC 2017

#40031: Consider Adding Web Annotations to WordPress
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 Reporter:  MikeSchinkel     |       Owner:
     Type:  feature request  |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal           |   Milestone:  Awaiting Review
Component:  Comments         |     Version:  trunk
 Severity:  normal           |  Resolution:
 Keywords:                   |     Focuses:  ui
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Comment (by MikeSchinkel):

 Replying to [comment:2 jdgrimes]:
 > ''"I'm rather new to annotations"''

 I only learned about them ~12 hours before you.  Before posting this
 ticket I read [https://www.w3.org/blog/news/archives/6156 the three
 recommendations] in full . I'd highly recommend if you or anyone else is
 interested in this ticket -- pro or con -- to read at least the
 [https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/REC-annotation-model-20170223/ data model
 spec] so you can come fully up to speed on what annotations are and what
 they are not.

 > ''"storing the comments that a website owner leaves as annotations
 anywhere else on the web."''

 Yes, that is a mostly correct characterization.

 > ''"But this sounds like basically adding support for an entirely
 separate class of content than WordPress is currently built for, mostly
 under-the-hood."''

 All we need is '''already''' in WordPress core as an ''existing'' class of
 content. We already have the tables needed in the standard WordPress
 database schema: `wp_comments` and `wp_commentmeta`.  Had this concept
 required new tables or even table modification it would have been a non-
 starter because of WordPress.com and so I would never have proposed it.

 > ''"Or whatever UI it did have would require some modification from what
 is in core now."''

 The existing comment UI in the admin would not need trivial enhancements
 to support this proposal.  Add a new core post type `persona` and then
 associate the annotations to the persona for the person making the comment
 ''(a person may choice to comment on the web using different persona's;
 e.g.  ''"legal analyst"'', ''"father of daughters"'', ''"soccer fan"'',
 et. al. so the persona post type would allow them to keep track of
 annotations for a specific persona.  But in most cases people would have
 just one persona, at least to start with.

 Note I recommend a Persona post type because `wp_comments` has a
 `comment_post_ID` field so we'd need an ID from a record in `wp_posts` to
 occupy this foreign key and one or more personas for an individual would
 be a great way to address this.

 > ''"Are we even talking about actual annotation management being provided
 through WordPress, or essentially just storage?"''

 I am not sure what you specifically mean by ''"actual annotation
 management"'' so I cannot yet answer.

 > ''"I'm also not clear whether we're talking about possibly having
 WordPress display annotations, like as a list of "things I've been
 annotating recently", kind of like a blog, or whether that is outside
 scope here as well."''

 Yes, definitely.   But for that I am really only seeing the need for an
 addition to the template hierarchy rules, a few rewrite rules, and
 possibly a new theme template page in the current default theme.

 > ''"Honestly, although I like the idea of annotations, I'm not
 comfortable with the idea of decentralization if it completely ignores the
 wishes and copyrights of the publisher of the annotated content."''

 Conveniently ''(in the absence of a legal contract that assigns
 copyright)'' copyright of creative works always rests automatically with
 the creator of the work.  If @jdgrimes writes and posts a comment on
 NYTimes.com it is you @jdgrimes that holds the copyright, not The New York
 Times ''(unless NYTimes.com has an egregious click-thru agreement, but
 that's an edge case and one in which I expect public pressure would
 quickly correct if this proposal were to become a reality in WordPress
 code, so let's assume they have no such agreement.)''

 So the wishes of the publisher are actually moot because  the publisher
 does not own the copyright nor the moral rights to '''your comment'''. You
 have simply implicitly agreed to allow them to publish it but you have not
 given up legal right to it ''(unless as I said they have an egregious
 legal agreement in place.)''  Also I would think that worrying about the
 publisher vs. the author is the opposite of ''"Democratizing Publishing"
 (although I could have my own view of that which is different than the
 WordPress project's at large? If so, please enlighten me.)''

 > ''"I'm not sure it would be entirely unjustified to say that this ticket
 is trying to turn WordPress into a glorified content-scraping and
 republishing engine."''

 To say that would be '''entirely unjustified'''.  Content scraping and
 republishing assumes taking other people's content. This proposal
 '''only''' concerns itself with the content that is created by author of
 the work.  This proposal assumes the comment would first be posted to the
 author's own WordPress site first ''(via an API of course)'' before it
 ever gets posted to a 3rd party publisher's site. So no scraping or
 republishing whatsoever.

 Also, in the case of an organization that gains copyright of commenters
 work by click-thru agreement, and they won't budge even the case of public
 pressure, realize that a minimum Web Annotation is just three (3) URLs:

 1. URL to the item being annotated, e.g. the web page being commented on,
 2. URL to the annotation text, e.g. the fragment pinpointing the comment
 on the web page being commented on,
 3. URL to the annotation JSON file containing these three (3) URLs.

 So even in those cases maintaining an annotation being 3 URLs would not
 violate any ill-gained publisher's copyright, it would just be a link to
 said publisher's page and the comment contained therein and courts have
 upheld that linking does not violate copyright.

 > Anyway, like I said, I'm fairly new to annotations, but that's my
 initial thoughts.

 I had a different idea a first until I read the
 [https://www.w3.org/TR/2017/REC-annotation-model-20170223/ data model
 spec]; highly recommend you at least review it if this ticket continues to
 interest you.

--
Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/40031#comment:6>
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