The open web / Webmentions
Webmentions
When someone writes about one of your moments on their own site, that link can find its way back to you.
A webmention is a small, quiet note that says “this page over here mentioned yours.” If a moment is open to conversation, those notes gather under it, next to any replies from the Fediverse. It is the older, calmer part of the open web: sites linking to each other, the way the web was always meant to.
What is a webmention?
A webmention is a way for one web page to tell another that it linked to it. Someone writes a post on their blog, links to your moment, and their site sends a small message to yours: a mention happened here.
It is an open web standard, not a Moments feature. Blogs, personal sites, and many corners of the IndieWeb already speak it. Moments simply listens.
How it works on Moments
You do not have to do anything. When a moment is open to conversation and another site links to it, the mention arrives on its own. Moments quietly checks that the other page really does link back to you, then shows it under the moment.
Each one appears as a short note: who wrote it, where it lives, and a way to read the whole thing on their site. A blog post that replies to your moment shows a little of what they said. A page that simply links to you shows its title. Either way, the visitor can follow it home.
How does it compare to the Fediverse?
They are two ways for the wider web to reach your journal. The Fediverse lets people follow and reply from Mastodon and other Fediverse apps. Webmentions let people respond from their own website, in their own words, on a page they own.
Both land in the same place, the Conversation under your moment. Replies from the Fediverse sit at the top, and webmentions gather below them under “From around the web.”
What it is not
There are no counts to chase here. Likes and reposts from other sites are not shown as numbers, because a journal is not a scoreboard. Only genuine replies and mentions appear, as words, not tallies.
And nothing appears without your say. Webmentions only reach moments you have opened to conversation. Private and unlisted moments never receive them.
How someone mentions your moment
For most people it is automatic. If their site supports webmentions (many blogs and IndieWeb tools do), simply linking to your moment is enough.
- 1
They link to your moment
On their own site, they write something and link to your moment’s page.
- 2
Their site sends the mention
When they publish, their site sends a webmention to yours. Some tools do this on their own; others use a small helper service.
- 3
Moments checks the link
Moments fetches their page and confirms it really links back to your moment, so nothing can be faked.
- 4
It appears under your moment
The mention shows up in the Conversation section, under “From around the web.” This can take a few minutes.
I have a journal. How do I control this?
Webmentions arrive only on moments you have opened to conversation, so it is the same simple choice as replies: some moments invite a conversation, others are better left quiet. You can see every webmention your journal has received, and hide any you would rather not show, from the Webmentions tab under Open web in your dashboard.