diff --git a/proposals/3440-threading-via-relations.md b/proposals/3440-threading-via-relations.md index 0fa83852..7692ee1d 100644 --- a/proposals/3440-threading-via-relations.md +++ b/proposals/3440-threading-via-relations.md @@ -3,13 +3,13 @@ ## Problem Threading allows users to branch out a new conversation from the main timeline of a room -to each other. This is particularly useful in high traffic rooms where multiple -conversations can happen in parallel or when a single discussion might stretch +to each other. This is particularly useful in high traffic rooms where multiple +conversations can happen in parallel or when a single discussion might stretch over a very long period of time. -The main goal of implementing threads is to facilitate conversations that are easier +The main goal of implementing threads is to facilitate conversations that are easier to follow and smoother to read. -Threading is very clearly a core requirement for any modern messaging +Threading is very clearly a core requirement for any modern messaging solution, and Matrix uptake is suffering due to the lack of progress. ## Proposal @@ -27,10 +27,10 @@ A new relation type (see [MSC2674](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull ``` Where $thread_root is the event ID of the root message in the thread. -When a thread root is aggregated (as in MSC2675), it returns a summary of the thread: -the latest message, a list of participants and the total count of messages. -I.e. in places which include bundled relations (per -[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675)), the thread root +When a thread root is aggregated (as in MSC2675), it returns a summary of the thread: +the latest message, a list of participants and the total count of messages. +I.e. in places which include bundled relations (per +[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675)), the thread root would include additional information in the `unsigned` field: ```jsonc @@ -51,7 +51,7 @@ would include additional information in the `unsigned` field: } ``` -* `latest_event`: The most recent event which relates to this event, with +* `latest_event`: The most recent event which relates to this event, with `rel_type` of `m.thread`. The latest event should be serialised in the same form as the event itself; @@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ would include additional information in the `unsigned` field: * `current_user_participated`: A flag set to `true` if the current logged in user has participated in the thread -#### Rich replies in a thread +#### Rich replies in a thread Rich replies are still handled via the `m.in_reply_to` field of `m.relates_to`. However clients should specify that this is not a thread fallback by setting @@ -89,9 +89,9 @@ in the room. A thread will be displayed as a chain of replies on clients unaware of threads. -Thread-ready clients should always include an `m.in_reply_to` property when sending +Thread-ready clients should always include an `m.in_reply_to` property when sending a threaded event. Unless the user is explicitly replying to another event (see "Rich replies in a thread", above), -the `m.in_reply_to` property should reference the latest message-like event in the +the `m.in_reply_to` property should reference the latest message-like event in the thread, and clients should also specify that `m.in_reply_to` is a fallback mechanism (rather than a genuine reply) by setting the `is_falling_back` property to `true`. @@ -110,13 +110,13 @@ is a fallback mechanism (rather than a genuine reply) by setting the `is_falling ``` Historically replies have been limited to text messages due to the legacy fallback -prepended to `formatted_body`. This MSC is dependant on -[MSC3676](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3676) which strips that +prepended to `formatted_body`. This MSC is dependant on +[MSC3676](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3676) which strips that requirement to unlock use of any event type in this context. ### Fetch all relations to a thread root -To fetch an entire thread, the `/relations` API can be used as defined in +To fetch an entire thread, the `/relations` API can be used as defined in [MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675) ``` @@ -125,31 +125,31 @@ GET /_matrix/client/unstable/rooms/!room_id:domain/relations/$thread_root/m.thre Where `$thread_root` is the event ID of the root message in the thread. -> Any API which receives events should bundle relations (apart from non-gappy -incremental syncs), for instance: initial sync, gappy incremental sync, +> Any API which receives events should bundle relations (apart from non-gappy +incremental syncs), for instance: initial sync, gappy incremental sync, /messages and /context. ### Fetch all threads in a room -[Event filters](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.2/client-server-api/#filtering) (as -used by endpoints including `/messages`, `/sync` and `/context`) are extended +[Event filters](https://spec.matrix.org/v1.2/client-server-api/#filtering) (as +used by endpoints including `/messages`, `/sync` and `/context`) are extended with new options to allow filtering events by their relating events: -* `related_by_rel_types`: A list of relation types to include. An event `A` is included -in the filter only if there exists another event `B` which relates to `A` with a +* `related_by_rel_types`: A list of relation types to include. An event `A` is included +in the filter only if there exists another event `B` which relates to `A` with a `rel_type` which is defined in the list -* `related_by_senders`: A list of senders to include. An event `A` is included in +* `related_by_senders`: A list of senders to include. An event `A` is included in the filter only if there exists another event `B` which relates to `A`, and which has a `sender` which is in the list. -This can also be combined with the `sender` field to search for threads which a +This can also be combined with the `sender` field to search for threads which a user has participated in (or not participated in). ``` GET /_matrix/client/v3/rooms/!room_id:domain/messages?filter=... ``` -The filter string includes the new fields, above. In this example, the URL +The filter string includes the new fields, above. In this example, the URL encoded JSON is presented unencoded and formatted for legibility: ```jsonc @@ -176,7 +176,7 @@ as it has another event which relates to it sent by `bob`. ### Server capabilities -Threads might have sporadic support across servers, to simplify feature +Threads might have sporadic support across servers, to simplify feature detections for clients, a homeserver must advertise unstable support for threads as part of the `/versions` API: @@ -193,11 +193,11 @@ as part of the `/versions` API: #### Read receipts -Read receipts and read markers assume a single chronological timeline. Threading +Read receipts and read markers assume a single chronological timeline. Threading changes that assumption making the current API not very practical. -Clients can synthesize read receipts but it is possible that some notifications get -lost on a fresh start where the clients have to start off the `m.read` +Clients can synthesize read receipts but it is possible that some notifications get +lost on a fresh start where the clients have to start off the `m.read` information received from the homeserver. Synchronising the synthesized notification count across devices is out of scope and deferred to a later MSC. @@ -244,7 +244,7 @@ Given the above list of events, only `ev1` would be a valid target for an `m.thr relation event. Servers should reject attempts to send events with invalid thread relations via the -Client-Server API with an HTTP `400` status code and a +Client-Server API with an HTTP `400` status code and a `M_UNKNOWN` error code. Events received over federation should always be accepted without checking the validity of the relations as it would break the extensibility of this proposal @@ -256,8 +256,8 @@ receives such events, it should hide them as soon as it can determine for certai that the associated event is not a valid target. Servers are expected to not filter out invalid `m.thread` relations from the results when -serving endpoints that deal with message relations. Clients that call those -endpoints should be aware that they may return events with invalid relations, +serving endpoints that deal with message relations. Clients that call those +endpoints should be aware that they may return events with invalid relations, and deal with them appropriately. ### Client considerations @@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ continuity of conversation in the ecosystem. Clients that do not offer a threading UI should behave as follows when replying, for best interaction with those that do. -They should set the `m.in_reply_to` part as usual, and then add on +They should set the `m.in_reply_to` part as usual, and then add on `"rel_type": "m.thread"` and `"event_id": "$thread_root"`, copying `$thread_root` from the replied-to event. @@ -281,7 +281,7 @@ separate area for displaying threads, clients can render the event in the main room timeline as a rich reply that will open and highlight the event in the thread context when clicked. -When replying to the following event, a client that does not support threads should +When replying to the following event, a client that does not support threads should copy in `rel_type` and `event_id` properties in their reply mixin. ```jsonc @@ -302,13 +302,13 @@ copy in `rel_type` and `event_id` properties in their reply mixin. "Threading as rooms", building on `m.in_reply_to`, and [MSC2836](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2836) are the main alternatives here. -It is also worth noting that relations in this MSC could be expressed using the +It is also worth noting that relations in this MSC could be expressed using the scalable relation format described in [MSC3051](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3051). ### Threads as rooms -Threads as rooms could provide full server-side APIs for navigating trees of events, -and could be considered an extension of this MSC for scenarios which require that +Threads as rooms could provide full server-side APIs for navigating trees of events, +and could be considered an extension of this MSC for scenarios which require that capability "Threads as rooms" is the idea that each thread could just get its own Matrix room. @@ -319,27 +319,27 @@ Advantages to "Threads as rooms" include: * Ability to create read-only threads Disadvantages include: - * Access control, membership, history visibility, room versions etc needs to be + * Access control, membership, history visibility, room versions etc needs to be synced between the thread-room and the parent room - * Harder to control lifetime of threads in the context of the parent room if + * Harder to control lifetime of threads in the context of the parent room if they're completely split off * Clients which aren't aware of them are going to fill up with a lot of rooms. - * Bridging to non-threaded chat systems is trickier as you may have to splice + * Bridging to non-threaded chat systems is trickier as you may have to splice together rooms ### Threads via m.in_reply_to -The rationale for using a new relation type instead of building on `m.in_reply_to` -is to re-use the event relationship APIs provided by -[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675). The MSC3267 definition -of `m.reference` relationships could be updated to mention threads (perhaps by -using the key field from [MSC2677](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2677) -as the thread ID), but it is clearer to define a new relation type. It is unclear -what impact this would have on [MSC3267](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3267), +The rationale for using a new relation type instead of building on `m.in_reply_to` +is to re-use the event relationship APIs provided by +[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675). The MSC3267 definition +of `m.reference` relationships could be updated to mention threads (perhaps by +using the key field from [MSC2677](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2677) +as the thread ID), but it is clearer to define a new relation type. It is unclear +what impact this would have on [MSC3267](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3267), but that is unimplemented by clients. -A big advantage of relations over rich replies is that they can be server-side -aggregated. It means that a client is not bound to download the entire history of +A big advantage of relations over rich replies is that they can be server-side +aggregated. It means that a client is not bound to download the entire history of a room to have a comprehensive list of events being part of a thread. ### Threads via serverside traversal of relationships MSC2836 @@ -349,12 +349,12 @@ Advantages include: * Simple possible API shape to implement threading in a useful way Disadvantages include: - * Relationships are queried using `/event_relationships` which is outside the - bounds of the `/sync` API so lacks the nice things /sync gives you (live updates). - That being said, the event will come down `/sync`, you just may not have the + * Relationships are queried using `/event_relationships` which is outside the + bounds of the `/sync` API so lacks the nice things /sync gives you (live updates). + That being said, the event will come down `/sync`, you just may not have the context required to see parents/siblings/children. - * Threads can be of arbitrary width (unlimited direct replies to a single message) - and depth (unlimited chain of replies) which complicates UI design when you just + * Threads can be of arbitrary width (unlimited direct replies to a single message) + and depth (unlimited chain of replies) which complicates UI design when you just want "simple" threading. * Does not consider use cases like editing or reactions @@ -364,14 +364,14 @@ None ## Unstable prefix -Clients and servers should use list of unstable prefixes listed below while this +Clients and servers should use list of unstable prefixes listed below while this MSC has not been included in a spec release. * `io.element.thread` should be used in place of `m.thread` as relation type * `io.element.thread` should be used in place of `m.thread` as a capability entry - * `io.element.relation_senders` should be used in place of `related_by_senders` + * `io.element.relation_senders` should be used in place of `related_by_senders` in the `RoomEventFilter` - * `io.element.relation_types` should be used in place of `related_by_rel_types` + * `io.element.relation_types` should be used in place of `related_by_rel_types` in the `RoomEventFilter` * `io.element.show_reply` should be used in place of `is_falling_back` @@ -384,10 +384,10 @@ was decided to move it to a later release. ## Dependencies -This MSC builds on [MSC2674](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2674), -[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675), +This MSC builds on [MSC2674](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2674), +[MSC2675](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/2675), [MSC3567](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3567) and, -[MSC3676](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3676) (which at the +[MSC3676](https://github.com/matrix-org/matrix-doc/pull/3676) (which at the time of writing have not yet been accepted into the spec). [^1]: It might seem like this could cause a loop where each latest event then