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'''OKAY'''
{{#css:
#firstHeading::after { content: " The Specification."; }
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Okay dares to ask the big questions. What if group chat was hypertext? What if discord let you write arbitrary HTML? What if protocols were bad?
<p class="lede">
'''Okay''' dares to ask the big questions. What if group chat was hypertext? What if discord let you write arbitrary HTML? What if protocols were bad?
</p>


== In Summary ==
== in summary ==
The '''Okay''' standard introduces a simple and flexible way to represent group chats within HTML documents, and some methods of interacting with them.


Okay is a group chat protocol. You join “Rooms” which contain “People” who “Talk” by sending and receiving “Messages” to and fro the “Server”.
* ''[[Okay/Spec#messages|Messages]]'' are sent to ''[[Okay/Spec#rooms|Rooms]]'', which are organised into ''[[Okay/Spec#spaces|Spaces]]''.
* Like all good protocols, all communication happens over HTTP(S) and WebSockets.
* All data in Okay is formatted according to standardised HTML patterns (much like how [https://microformats.org/wiki/about Microformats] work). We call these [[Okay/Spec#michaelformats|Michaelformats]] because I thought it would be funny.
* You can receive events as they happen by [[Okay/Spec#subscriptions|subscribing]] to them.
* Authentication uses the magic of client-side certificates. When a user adds a space, the client registers itself with the server using a fresh certificate, and then uses that to sign each subsequent request.


❊ A room is just a special URI which you can POST messages to and GET them back from at a later date.
== the warning (Hot Chip album) ==
This standard is '''deeply unserious'''. It is also '''deeply in progress'''. Implement at your own peril.


❊ You can use WebSockets to get a real-time feed of events that you’re interested in.
== conventions ==
The key words “<span class="must">must</span>”, “<span class="mustnt">must not</span>”, “<span class="must">required</span>”, “<span class="must">shall</span>”, “<span class="mustnt">shall not</span>”, “<span class="should">should</span>”, “<span class="shouldnt">should not</span>”, “<span class="should">recommended</span>”, “<span class="may">may</span>”, and “<span class="may">optional</span>” in this document are to be interpreted as described in [https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/bcp14 BCP14], although we use bold colourful text instead of capitals (so it doesn’t look like we’re yelling at you. This is a relaxed and cordial protocol specification).


❊ Events are represented as HTML over the wire. This allows most client implementations skip the bit where they convert every message into HTML, while providing a stable format for non-web platforms to convert into their own inferior representations. This also lets you do really really stupid things with your messages.
== controversies ==
* <s>What “server” means is kind of nebulous.</s>
* What do we do about invalid HTML?
* Should room names be unique?
* check out webauthn. maybe it's a better idea than client side certs lol


❊ Every client is authenticated with a TLS certificate that gets generated by the client on first use.
== connections ==
Connections in Okay <span class="should">should</span> happen over HTTPS. Plaintext HTTP is acceptable for testing purposes.


== todo list ==
A typical connection to a never before seen space usually goes like this:


* what “server” means is kind of nebulous
* The user hands the client a URI to examine;
* The client issues a GET request to the URI and checks the response against the [[Okay/Spec#discovery|discovery requirements]];
* If the response meets all requirements, it generates a new key pair and [[Okay/Spec#registration|registers]] itself;
* Once everyone’s happy, the client can begin posting messages to rooms.


== connection flow ==
== processing documents ==
Much of the Okay protocol involves retrieving documents and scanning them for special markup.


A typical connection to an never before seen server usually goes like this:
=== michaelformats ===
The Okay Standard introduces a number of HTML patterns known as '''michaelformats'''. These are identical in concept to (and heavily plagiarise from) [https://microformats.org/wiki/Main_Page microformats].


✻ The user hands the client a URI to examine
=== looking for stuff ===
✻ The client issues a GET request to the URI and examines the response
=== linking to stuff ===
✻ If the response meets all the discovery requirements, it generates a new certificate and registers itself with the server’s registration endpoint
Unless otherwise specified, michaelformats can be included inline or '''linked''' in a <code><a/></code> or <code><link/></code> element, using the michaelformat's name as the <code>rel</code> attribute.
✻ Once everyone’s happy, the client can begin posting messages to rooms.


== discovery ==
As an example, each of these elements are functionally equivalent:<syntaxhighlight lang="html"><!-- a room directory, rendered inline -->
<div class="ok-rooms">
    <!-- ... -->
</div>


For a client to recognise a URI as an Okay protocol server, it must:
<!-- a room directory, linked with an anchor tag -->
<a href="/rooms/" rel="ok-rooms">Room Directory</a>


* Respond with 200 OK upon a GET request,
<!-- a room directory, linked with an link tag -->
* Have a Content-Type of text/html,
<link href="/rooms/" rel="ok-rooms"></syntaxhighlight>The value of the <code>href</code> attribute <span class="must">must</span> be a ''valid URL potentially surrounded by spaces'', as [https://html.spec.whatwg.org/multipage/urls-and-fetching.html#valid-url-potentially-surrounded-by-spaces defined in the HTML standard].  
* Respond with a valid HTML document, -- TODO: define valid
* Have the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header set to *,
* Contain a Discovery Element (scroll down, you’ll see).
TODO: what if there are multiple discovery elements?


=== The Discovery Element ===
When a client encounters a URI with a fragment, it <span class="must">must</span> search for an element with a matching <code>id</code> in the linked document. If the specified element is present, the client <span class="mustnt">must not</span> scan the document for the desired markup, and instead consider the linked element to be the desired markup. If multiple instances of the same <code>id</code> exist in the document, the client <span class="must">must</span> ignore all but the first instance. <span class="todo">make this make sense</span>


A discovery element is a micro-format for informing Okay clients where they should be looking for certain information. They look like this:
== sending stuff ==
Sometimes you need to send stuff to the server. That's fine. That's okay. You'll be okay.


```
=== forms ===
<nav class=“ok-discover”>
Forms come in various forms.
<a href=“/rooms/” rel=“ok-rooms”>Rooms</a>
<a href=“/register/” rel=“ok-register”>Registration</a>
<a href=“/prefs/” rel=“ok-prefs”>Preferences</a>
</nav>
```


The discovery element is defined as any element with the “ok-discover” class. Any non-void element can be the discovery element, but it really should be a “nav” if you can help it. The discovery element must contain one or more anchor (a) elements with valid rel and href attributes. Any invalid anchors should be ignored by the client. The inner text of the anchor elements is not significant and must be ignored by clients.
Servers must accept form responses as <code>application/x-www-form-urlencoded</code> or <code>application/json</code>.


A list of valid anchor rel attributes and their purposes are described below:
== spaces ==
Conceptually, a '''space''' is an isolated container that stores room state and user data. They are each represented by a [[Okay/Spec#ok-space|HTML element]] which provides URIs for clients to send their requests to (for example, its [[Okay/Spec#rooms|room directory]] or [[Okay/Spec#initiation|registration page]]). The URI of the document that contains this is called the space’s '''root URI'''.


Key: ◈ Required, ◇ Optional, ❖ Can be specified multiple times
=== discovery ===
For a client to recognise a document as containing a space, it <span class="must">must</span>:


◈ ok-rooms — Points to a list of all rooms hosted by the server.
* Respond with 200 OK upon a GET request;
* Have a MIME type of <code>text/html</code>;
* Respond with a valid HTML document; <span class="todo">define valid</span>
* Have the Access-Control-Allow-Origin header set to <code>*</code>;
* Contain valid [[Okay/Spec#the element thereof|ok-space]] markup.


◈ ok-register — Points to the server’s registration endpoint.
If a document contains multiple spaces, the client <span class="should">should</span> prompt the user to select which space it should use.


◈ ok-prefs — Points to the server’s preferences endpoint.
==== ok-space ====
Spaces are declared using the '''ok-space''' [[Okay/Spec#michaelformats|michaelformat]]. Upon retrieving a document, the client <span class="must">must</span> scan for elements with the <code>ok-space</code> class, as well as [[Okay/Spec#linking to other spaces|links and anchors]] with the <code>ok-space</code> rel attribute. Here's an example of valid <code>ok-space</code> markup:<syntaxhighlight lang="html"><nav class="ok-space">
  <h1>This is an Okay space</h1>
  <a href="/rooms/" rel="ok-rooms">Rooms</a>
  <a href="/register/" rel="ok-register">Registration</a>
  <a href="/prefs/" rel="ok-prefs">Preferences</a>
</nav></syntaxhighlight>For an element to be considered valid <code>ok-space</code> markup, it <span class="must">must</span> be a non-void element (ideally a <code><nav /></code>) with the <code>ok-space</code> class and contain anchor elements with valid <code>rel</code> and <code>href</code> attributes. Any invalid anchors or elements not specified in the format <span class="must">must</span> be ignored by the client. The inner text of the anchor elements is not significant and <span class="must">must</span>be ignored by clients.
 
A list of valid anchor <code>rel</code> attributes and their purposes is described below:
 
'''Key''': <span class="required"><span class="symbol">◈</span> '''required'''</span>, <span class="optional"><span class="symbol">◇</span> '''optional'''</span>, <span class="multiple"><span class="symbol">❖</span> '''can be specified multiple times'''</span>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
|<span class="required"><span class="symbol">◈</span></span>
|<span class="required"><code>'''ok-rooms'''</code></span>
|The space's [[Okay/Spec#the directory|room directory]].
|-
|<span class="required"><span class="symbol">◈</span></span>
|<span class="required"><code>'''ok-register'''</code></span>
|The space's registration page.
|-
|<span class="required"><span class="symbol">◈</span></span>
|<span class="required"><code>'''ok-prefs'''</code></span>
|The space's preferences page.
|}
 
==== linking to other spaces ====
A document can direct clients to another document containing a space using an <code><a /></code> or <code><link /></code> element with the <code>rel="ok-space"</code> attribute. The client <span class="must">must</span> scan the linked document for valid <code>ok-space</code> markup, but it <span class="mustnt">must not</span> follow any further links or anchors with the <code>rel="ok-space"</code> attribute.
 
The URI provided <span class="may">may</span> include a fragment component to specify which element the client should treat as [[Okay/Spec#ok-space|ok-space]]<nowiki/>markup (e.g., <code><nowiki>https://example.com/#my-elem</nowiki></code>). The linked element <span class="must">must</span> be valid <code>ok-space</code> markup. If the fragment is specified and the corresponding element is present in the linked document, the client <span class="mustnt">must not</span> scan any other part of the document for <code>ok-space</code> markup.<syntaxhighlight lang="html"><!-- link to a space with the id "space" -->
<link rel="ok-space" href="https://example.ok/#space" />
<!-- anchors work, too. thanks to the lack of fragment (the bit after the #),
    this link forces the client to rummage around for spaces like an animal -->
<a rel="ok-space" href="https://benfoldsfive.example/">
    chat in the official Ben Folds Five space!!!
</a></syntaxhighlight>
 
==== metadata ====
Spaces can provide metadata about themselves to help users identify them.<syntaxhighlight lang="html"><nav class="ok-space">
    <h1 class="ok-title"></h1>
    <p class="ok-subtitle"></p>
    <p class="ok-description"></p>
    <img class="ok-icon" src="">
    <!-- ... -->
</nav></syntaxhighlight>Space metadata can be declared anywhere within the ok-space element, using the class names given below:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Class Name
!Tag
!Purpose
|-
|<code>ok-icon</code>
|<code><img /></code> or <code><picture /></code>.
|An image to represent the space visually. These are typically square and rendered at small sizes.
|-
|<code>ok-title</code>
|Any non-void element, <code><nowiki><h1 /></nowiki></code> preferred.
|What the space is called in common parlance.
|-
|<code>ok-subtitle</code>
|Any non-void element, <code><nowiki><p /></nowiki></code> preferred.
|An extra bit of text that is displayed alongside the title in certain contexts.
|-
|<code>ok-description</code>
|Any non-void element, <code><nowiki><p /></nowiki></code> preferred.
|A long description of what the space is about.
|}
Clients may strip out child elements for some or all of the metadata elements, but should retain any text content from within the stripped elements.
 
<span class="todo">class name bikeshedding</span>


== initiation ==
== initiation ==
A client <span class="must">must</span> register itself with a space before it can perform most actions.
=== keys ===
When registering with a space, a client <span class="should">should</span> transparently generate a key pair (<span class="todo">what type(s)?</span>) and store it for use in subsequent requests.
=== registration ===
The registration page allows clients to register their public key and [[Okay/Spec#profiles|profile]] with the space.
== directory ==
The '''room directory''' is represented using the <code>ok-rooms</code> [[Okay/Spec#michaelformats|michaelformat]]. It contains the list of every room in a space. This list <span class="may">may</span> be [[Okay/Spec#pagination|paginated]].
A space's room directory <span class="must">must</span> be present in its [[Okay/Spec#ok-space|ok-space]] element, either [[Okay/Spec#linking to stuff|linked]] using the <code>ok-rooms</code> rel value or included inline.


Before a client can do anything with a server, it must first identify itself.  
Each room in the space <span class="must">must</span> be linked with a single <code><a /></code> element with the <code>ok-room</code> rel value. Rooms <span class="mustnt">must not</span> be included inline in the room directory.
 
Here's an example of what a room directory might look like:<syntaxhighlight lang="html"><main class="ok-rooms">
  <h1>Rooms on This Server</h1>
  <ul>
    <li><a href="/rooms/1" rel="ok-room">General</a></li>
    <li><a href="/rooms/evil" rel="ok-room">Evildoing Room (evil)</a></li>
  </ul>
</main></syntaxhighlight>A room directory is still just a rat in a cage.
 
=== sections ===
A <code><section /></code> element denotes a '''section''', which allows severs to provide more structure to their room directory. Sections <span class="must">must</span> have a heading of any level as a direct descendant and one or more room links. Anything within the section that isn't a header or room link <span class="must">must</span> be ignored by the client.


== the directory ==
=== groups & sections ===
== rooms ==
== rooms ==
== messages ==
== messages ==
== profiles ==
== profiles ==
== subscriptions ==
== subscriptions ==
== settings ==
== pagination ==
Many lists can be '''paginated''' when it would be impractical to send its entire contents. This is common in message lists and room directories if you're getting a bit silly with it.
== critical reception ==
It’s okay.
[[Category:Pages that need things added to them]]
Retrieved from "https://wiki.pronounmail.com/wiki/Okay/Spec"