How does one tag another user in a comment?

TWeaK, 10 months ago

I know I’ve comment-vomited all over this thread, but I just want to comment once more so that OP gets it:

The best form is /u/user@their_instance. This creates an instance agnostic link of the form https://your_instance/u/user@their_instance, eg /u/tweak@lemm.ee, which you will see as feddit.nl/u/tweak@lemm.ee. This keeps the viewer in the instance they’re logged into, so they can actually interact eg send a message.

Typing @user@their_instance on its own doesn’t create a link. If you start typing @user then you’ll get a dropdown box, however when you select that it creates a direct link in the form https://their_instance/u/user, which takes you to their instance, which you might not be logged into.

UnanimousStargazer, 10 months ago

OK, interesting. There are multiple ways apparently.

If you start typing @user then you’ll get a dropdown box,

If one uses the web-interface. But who uses the web-interface. It’s slow and clunky. A client is much faster.

LoafyLemon, 10 months ago

Plot twist: Both your client and the website use web interfaces. The difference is the client uses Electron Chrome instead of Firefox/chrome browser.

TWeaK, 10 months ago

Depends on your instance. Over at lemm.ee, the web version is arguably better than Jerboa, for example. However our lead admin sets things up just so, and includes various mods he made and pushes into the main code stack.

Also, I’m not sure if the instance agnostic links give you a mention. The devs really need to tie all this together, with mentions for the agnostic links, and auto-generated links with @user so you don’t have to type out the full link code.

Magrid, 10 months ago

@username@instance

@Magrid

SamsonSeinfelder, 10 months ago

I also found this early discussion helpfull

Solution

Introduce a special format for instance agnostic links (called Lemmy links) that will be opened in the current instance:

<pre style="background-color:#ffffff;">
<span style="color:#323232;">for posts: #1@lemmy.world
</span><span style="color:#323232;">for users: @ruud@lemmy.world
</span><span style="color:#323232;">for communities: !asklemmy@lemmy.ml
</span>

for comments: ~1@lemmy.world

This will open page at https://lemmy.world/u/ruudost/1, lemmy.world/u/ruud, lemmy.world/c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml, lemmy.world/comment/1 respectively. It will not break existing links functionality as direct HTTP links are still supported.

Bookmark the resource link (or mark this comment as saved on lemmy) for future reference

TWeaK, 10 months ago

You didn’t type @Magrid@lemm.ee though, you started typing and selected the dropdown box link. This creates a direct link to the user’s instance, which isn’t great.

If you type /u/username@instance then you will get an instance agnostic link, which will be in the viewer’s instance. Eg /u/UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl - if you click View Source then you will see I did not type a link, yet when you hover over it the URL (for you) is lemm.ee/u/UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl. With an instance agnostic link you stay in your instance and see a federated version of the user’s page, which allows you to do things like message them.

kabe, 10 months ago (edited 10 months ago)

Thanks, /u/tweak@lemm.ee

Edit: I don’t see a link when using this method on Voyager or Jerboa, whereas @TWeaK does work. It seems Lemmy apps don’t support your way of doing it yet.

TWeaK, 10 months ago

Edit: I don’t see a link when using Yoyager. Perhaps some clients don’t support this?

Could be. It’s all new here innit.

I’m also not sure that the /u/ link generates a mention. Or if Lemmy even has mentions that alert the user, rather than just replies.

kabe, 10 months ago

I think the @user tag does. If you check your inbox under mentions, you should see a notification for that but not for /u/user@instance.

TWeaK, 10 months ago

Yeah, really they should all function the same way. /u/ should give a mention, and typing @user should automatically create a link - without the dropdown box or full link code.

Crul, 10 months ago

I’m on lemmy.world and the autosuggestion offers me this code:

@UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl

Which results in this link: @UnanimousStargazer

TWeaK, 10 months ago

Even in the pre-0.18 versions of lemmy, you could use [link text](/u/user@instance) for an instance agnostic link. Now, you can just type /u/user@instance and the instance will automatically create a link.

eg /u/UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl (click view source to see the source does not have any link structure)

Your version will take people out of their instance and to feddit.nl.

Incidentally, if you select the username from the dropdown box that pops up when you type, then you get a direct link like yours, which is kind of crap.

Crul, 10 months ago

Thanks for the info!

PreciousDeclaration, 10 months ago

I thought I had seen on other comments where users had just used the @ symbol before the username. See if this works. @UnanimousStargazer

UnanimousStargazer, 10 months ago

Could be, but I can’t check because you’re also commenting on my OP. Could you retry commenting on another comment not written by me?

Never mind: the mention worked.

PreciousDeclaration, 10 months ago

Glad that it worked.

PreciousDeclaration, 10 months ago

@UnanimousStargazer I’ve tried commenting on my own comment, does it work now?

TWeaK, 10 months ago

It’s not @, you want to use /u/, eg /u/user@their_instance. This creates an instance agnostic link where the viewer sees the user in their own instance, where they’re logged in, so they can message you. When you hover over it says https://your_instance/u/user@their_instance. The source of the comment has no link structure, the viewer’s instance creates the link, so long as it’s on version 0.18 or newer.

The confusion is that when you start typing you get a popup window where you can select the username. However this creates a direct link with text @user@their_instance but the link is https://their_instance/u/user. When you view source you see a full link created as @user@their_instance.

Hopefully in a future version they’ll fix the drop down box to create agnostic links. It seems like they overlooked that in the 0.18 update.

PreciousDeclaration, 10 months ago

I appreciate you taking the time to explain all this, I guess there must be different ways of doing this, but your comment has confused me a little bit, maybe it’s just a little too early in the morning here for me. I’ll read it again later, and maybe get a better understanding. Although, I’m not sure what drop down box/popup window you’re referring to. I’m not using the web browser, I’m using the Jerboa app, so I didn’t get a drop down box or popup window when I started typing.
The OP just asked about how to tag a user, and using the @ symbol worked, the OP got their mention notification.

TWeaK, 10 months ago

The OP just asked about how to tag a user, and using the @ symbol worked, the OP got their mention notification.

Yeah I kind of realised after my 4th or 5th comment what OP was actually talking about lol. In any case, the link functions are still in need of some development - I’m not sure that the agnostic links give mentions, meanwhile the @ link should also be agnostic. Hopefully they’ll also make the @ link auto-generate, without having to fully type out a manual link code.

BrikoX, 10 months ago

@username@instance.tld
Example @UnanimousStargazer

TWeaK, 10 months ago

If you use /u/ instead of the dropdown box you get an instance agnostic link. eg /u/UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl

You’re in lemmy.zip, so the link you see will be lemmy.zip/u/UnanimousStargazer@feddit.nl, which keeps you in your own instance so that you can message them, etc.

Just typing @UnanimousStargazer without selecting from the dropdown box does not create a link.

BrikoX, 10 months ago

As far as I know using /u/username@instance.tld doesn’t ping.

TWeaK, 10 months ago

Yeah they need to tie it all together. Dropdown box links should be instance agnostic, typing @user should create a link, and all user links should ping.