Patrick Britton 6217cb2ffd fix: Resolve remaining compilation errors in Groups feature

2026-02-17 11:16:39 -06:00

11 KiB

Raw Blame History

Sojorn Seeding Philosophy

Core Principle: Honest Onboarding

The Problem: New users dropped into an empty platform experience confusion, not connection. They don't know what belongs, what tone is expected, or whether anyone else is here.

Traditional Solution (Rejected):

Create fake user personas
Simulate conversations and arguments
Inflate engagement metrics
Hide that content is from the platform itself

Sojorn Solution (Honest):

Create clearly labeled official accounts
Post authentic, useful content
Never fake engagement
Never pretend to be real users

What We Seed

Official Accounts (3)

All official accounts are:

Clearly labeled with "SOJORN" badge
Unable to log in (disabled passwords)
Restricted to service role posting only
Transparent in their bios

1. @sojorn

Purpose: Platform transparency and announcements

Content:

How Sojorn works
Community guidelines
Feature updates
Transparency notes

Tone: Neutral, factual, direct

Example:

"Welcome to Sojorn. This is a friends-first social platform designed for genuine connections. Posts are ranked by authentic engagement—real appreciation over time, not outrage or virality."

2. @sojorn_read

Purpose: Reading content and prompts

Content:

Public domain poetry excerpts
Gentle observations about reading
Literary reflections
No attribution debates (handled in metadata)

Tone: Observational, appreciative

Example:

"Sometimes a book sits on your shelf for years, and then one Tuesday you pick it up and it feels like it was waiting for exactly this moment."

3. @sojorn_write

Purpose: Writing prompts and reflections

Content:

Gentle writing invitations
Observational prompts
Seasonal/temporal reflections
No instruction or therapy framing

Tone: Invitational, present

Example:

"Write about a small moment that did not need to be shared."

What We Don't Seed

Never Fake Users

❌ Create personas ("Sarah from Portland")
❌ Generate profile pictures
❌ Simulate follower networks
❌ Pretend accounts are real people

Never Fake Engagement

❌ Auto-like posts
❌ Generate fake saves
❌ Create fake comments
❌ Inflate view counts

Never Fake Conversations

❌ Simulate arguments
❌ Create fake disagreements
❌ Post as if replying to users
❌ Generate synthetic dialogue

Never Hide Origin

❌ Bury "official" labels
❌ Use vague language ("community team")
❌ Suggest content is user-generated
❌ Imply accounts are volunteers

Content Guidelines

Acceptable Themes

Observational:

Weather, light, seasons
Small routines
Reading experiences
Writing reflections

Reflective:

Quiet gratitude
Neutral observations
Gentle prompts
Present-moment awareness

Educational:

How Sojorn works
Tone detection explanations
Feature announcements
Transparency notes

Unacceptable Themes

Performative:

❌ Engagement bait ("What do YOU think?")
❌ Calls to action ("Share this!")
❌ Virality attempts
❌ Trending topic chasing

Instructional:

❌ Self-improvement commands
❌ Therapy framing
❌ Moral instruction
❌ "Should" language

Divisive:

❌ Politics
❌ Religious preaching
❌ Persuasion
❌ Debate provocation

Temporal Distribution

Backdating Strategy

Goal: Avoid all content appearing on the same day

Approach:

Backdate posts naturally over 14 days
Spread across categories evenly
Maintain chronological integrity
Never future-date content

Implementation:

base_time := NOW() - INTERVAL '14 days';
-- Posts inserted with timestamps from base_time to NOW
-- Example: base_time, base_time + 6 hours, base_time + 1 day, etc.

Why 14 Days:

Long enough to feel natural
Short enough to stay relevant
Creates scrollable history
Avoids "ghost town" feeling

No Artificial Freshness

We Don't:

❌ Constantly bump old posts
❌ Create "trending" illusions
❌ Simulate real-time activity
❌ Post at fake peak hours

We Do:

✅ Let old posts age naturally
✅ Post new official content occasionally
✅ Maintain honest timestamps
✅ Accept that some feeds will be quiet

Volume Targets

Initial Seed (Per Category)

General Discussion:

Platform explanations: 5 posts
Observations: 10-15 posts
Writing prompts: 10 posts
Total: ~25 posts

Quiet Reflections:

Poetry excerpts: 8-10 posts
Reading reflections: 5 posts
Seasonal observations: 8 posts
Total: ~20 posts

Gratitude:

Gratitude reflections: 5 posts
Writing prompts: 5 posts
Total: ~10 posts

Overall Target

Total Seed Content: ~55 posts

Why This Number:

Enough to scroll 2-3 minutes
Not overwhelming
Models tone diversity
Leaves room for user content

UI Treatment (Honest Labeling)

Official Badge

Design:

[SOJORN] badge in soft blue (AppTheme.info)
- 8px font, uppercase
- 12% opacity background
- Always visible, never hidden

Placement:

Next to author name
In profile header
On all official posts

Copy:

Just "SOJORN" (no embellishment)
Not "Verified" (implies endorsement)
Not "Staff" (implies employees)
Not "Official" (too formal)

No Deceptive Language

Never:

❌ "Recommended for you" (implies algorithm knows you)
❌ "Trending" (fake popularity)
❌ "Popular" (fake consensus)
❌ "You might like" (false personalization)

Always:

✅ "From Sojorn" (honest origin)
✅ [SOJORN badge] (clear labeling)
✅ Bio transparency ("Official Sojorn account")

Feed Weighting (Exit Strategy)

Problem

Official seed content must not dominate forever as user-generated content grows.

Solution: Gradual Dilution

Phase 1: Empty Platform (Week 1)

Official posts: 100% of feed
User posts: 0%
Weighting: Equal visibility for official posts

Phase 2: Growing Platform (Week 2-4)

Official posts: 50-80% of feed
User posts: 20-50%
Weighting: Begin reducing official post ranking

Phase 3: Active Platform (Month 2+)

Official posts: 10-30% of feed
User posts: 70-90%
Weighting: Official posts ranked lower than user content

Phase 4: Mature Platform (Month 6+)

Official posts: 0-10% of feed
User posts: 90-100%
Weighting: Official posts archived or heavily downranked

Implementation

Ranking Modifier:

if (post.author.is_official) {
  // Reduce ranking weight based on platform maturity
  const platformAge = daysSinceFirstUserPost();
  const officialPenalty = Math.min(platformAge / 30, 0.7); // Max 70% reduction
  post.engagementScore *= (1 - officialPenalty);
}

Cap Per Feed Window:

// Limit official posts in each feed page
const maxOfficialPosts = Math.max(2, Math.floor(pageSize * 0.2)); // 20% or 2, whichever is higher

Optional Archival

After 6 Months:

Move oldest official posts to "archived" status
Still accessible via direct link
No longer appear in feeds
Preserves history without clutter

Engagement Integrity

Rule: No Synthetic Engagement

All Metrics Start at Zero:

INSERT INTO post_metrics (post_id, like_count, save_count, comment_count, view_count)
VALUES (post_id, 0, 0, 0, 0);

Why:

Faking engagement = lying
Lies erode trust
Trust is Sojorn's only asset
Zero is honest

Comments Disabled

Official accounts cannot receive comments:

CREATE POLICY "Official accounts cannot receive comments"
ON comments
FOR INSERT
WITH CHECK (
  NOT EXISTS (
    SELECT 1 FROM posts p
    JOIN profiles pr ON pr.id = p.author_id
    WHERE p.id = post_id AND pr.is_official = true
  )
);

Why:

Official accounts never reply (not real users)
Prevents fake dialogue
No "community manager" persona
Maintains honesty

Content Examples

✅ Good Seed Content

@sojorn (Transparency):

"Your feed has two tabs: Following shows posts from people you follow, chronologically. Sojorn shows posts ranked by authentic engagement from everyone. You control which categories you see."

Why: Factual, useful, transparent

@sojorn_read (Observation):

"Reading before bed is different than reading in the morning. One settles you down. The other wakes you up in a quiet way."

Why: Observational, relatable, no instruction

@sojorn_write (Invitation):

"Write about something ordinary you noticed today."

Why: Gentle prompt, no pressure, present tense

❌ Bad Seed Content

Fake Persona:

"Hi everyone! I'm Sarah and I just joined Sojorn. What are you all reading?"

Why: Deceptive, pretends to be real user

Engagement Bait:

"What's your favorite book? Let me know in the comments!"

Why: Solicits performance, implies conversation

Moral Instruction:

"Remember: you should always take time for self-care. Here are 5 ways to practice mindfulness today."

Why: Preachy, instructional, "should" language

Monitoring & Adjustment

Monthly Review

Check:

What % of feed is official content?
Are official posts still useful?
Is user content growing?
Should we archive old official posts?

User Feedback

Listen For:

"These posts feel fake" → Review tone
"Too much Sojorn content" → Increase penalty
"I don't know what to post" → Add more prompts
"Official accounts are helpful" → Continue

Summary

What This Accomplishes

For New Users:

✅ Never dropped into emptiness
✅ Immediately see what tone is expected
✅ Have content to interact with
✅ Understand "what belongs here"

For Platform:

✅ Honest onboarding through presence
✅ Trust preserved through transparency
✅ No deception or fake activity
✅ Gradual transition to user content

The Commitment

Sojorn will:

✅ Always label official content
✅ Never fake users or engagement
✅ Reduce official content as platform grows
✅ Maintain transparency about seeding

Sojorn will never:

❌ Create fake personas
❌ Inflate metrics
❌ Hide content origin
❌ Pretend official accounts are users

Implementation Checklist

Run seed_official_accounts.sql (create @sojorn, @sojorn_read, @sojorn_write)
Run seed_content.sql (insert ~55 posts backdated over 14 days)
Update Profile model with isOfficial field
Add official badge to PostCard UI
Implement feed weighting for official posts
Schedule monthly review of official content ratio
Plan archival after 6 months

Philosophy: Seeding is not deception. It is honest hospitality.

Execution: Clearly labeled, authentically useful, gradually diluted.

Result: New users welcomed into connection, not emptiness.

11 KiB Raw Blame History

Sojorn Seeding Philosophy

Core Principle: Honest Onboarding

What We Seed

Official Accounts (3)

1. @sojorn

2. @sojorn_read

3. @sojorn_write

What We Don't Seed

Never Fake Users

Never Fake Engagement

Never Fake Conversations

Never Hide Origin

Content Guidelines

Acceptable Themes

Unacceptable Themes

Temporal Distribution

Backdating Strategy

No Artificial Freshness

Volume Targets

Initial Seed (Per Category)

Overall Target

UI Treatment (Honest Labeling)

Official Badge

No Deceptive Language

Feed Weighting (Exit Strategy)

Problem

Solution: Gradual Dilution

Phase 1: Empty Platform (Week 1)

Phase 2: Growing Platform (Week 2-4)

Phase 3: Active Platform (Month 2+)

Phase 4: Mature Platform (Month 6+)

Implementation

Optional Archival

Engagement Integrity

Rule: No Synthetic Engagement

Comments Disabled

Content Examples

✅ Good Seed Content

❌ Bad Seed Content

Monitoring & Adjustment

Monthly Review

User Feedback

Summary

What This Accomplishes

The Commitment

Implementation Checklist

11 KiB

Raw Blame History