LizaNov 9, 2022
phildini

Hey, if you want to be "verified" on the fediverse as being _actually you_, you don't need some third party to verify you or to check some list.

Got a domain you own, that's obvs you?

Paste `<a rel="me" href="https://your.server/@your_username">Mastodon</a>`into the html on that domain, add that domain to your profile links, bam, verified at least as comprehensively as a lot of folks on birdsite.

If this seems hard, I will help you! You can verify yourself, promise!

(boosts for reach a-ok)

Nov 8, 2022 at 7:49amWeb
Show threadnevNov 8, 2022
@phildini I assume this works even if it's a subdomain like ____.neocities.org or whatever
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@nev yes, absolutely
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022
@phildini any tips on how to get this to work with wordpress? I tried putting the code in the footer via a widget and that didn't seem to work.
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@scottking happy to try and debug over DM
Show threadHowie DayNov 9, 2022
@phildini @scottking Please share any findings!
Show threadSarah ConnerNov 24, 2022
@scottking @phildini I’ve got the same problem but with an Adobe Portfolio site. I put the link in the footer but I’m still not verified.
Show threadLeah Braemel 🇨🇦 🐱🐶🖋️Nov 8, 2022
@scottking @phildini I added it to my WP footer too, though without the word Mastodon as my Wordpress theme includes a social media graphic link for Mastodon, but how do I tell if it worked or not?
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022
@LeahBraemel @phildini I havent gotten it to work yet with WP.
Show threadLeah Braemel 🇨🇦 🐱🐶🖋️Nov 8, 2022
@scottking @phildini but what is it supposed to do when it does work? How do you know if it is or is not working?
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022

@LeahBraemel @phildini edit profile. Update the link and dave changes. If it worked it is supposed to say verified. (I think)

Change should be instant once you hit “save changes” or at least that is what I have been told.

Show threadLeah Braemel 🇨🇦 🐱🐶🖋️Nov 8, 2022
@scottking @phildini Okay, I just deleted the website link I originally had added on Mastodon, went to my WP site and made sure the HTML is in my WP footer, came back to Mastodon and added my website link back in and voila, there is now a green check mark beside my website. thank you! ✅
Show threadYour HelmsmanNov 9, 2022

@scottking @phildini

Really struggling with this. Does the content of the tag - the target for the tag - or the style of the tag matter?

Can't seem to make it work with my site's page ATM.

Show threadYour HelmsmanNov 14, 2022

@scottking @phildini

ah. Working now. It does seem to take a while for the change to come. But I have my green tick at last!

Show threadcranbaby 🎀Nov 8, 2022
@phildini not that i really *care*, but i added the link to my tumblr bio and i don't think it worked. maybe i did something wrong?
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@cranbaby happy to try and debug over DM
Show threadEffie SeibergNov 8, 2022
@phildini hi there! Thank you for offering advice! Is there a timeframe during which this happens? I added the code to my website and pushed it a few hours ago, and I don't know if I did it wrong or the update on the mastodon side hasn't gone through yet.
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@effies you may need to re-add the link to your profile. Like remove it, save, add it.
Show threadEffie SeibergNov 8, 2022
@phildini Thank you! I tried it, no luck turning green, so perhaps I implemented it wrong on my site. (The code is copied directly from Mastodon, and shows up in the page's HTML, but maybe I'm missing something.)
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022
@effies @phildini Is there a chance it takes time to authenticate? Or is it something that is supposed to happen instantly?
Show threadEffie SeibergNov 8, 2022
@scottking @phildini Looks like I was missing .html on the Mastodon side and once I updated again with the fuller link it turned green immediately. Thank you for your help!
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022
@effies @phildini That is helpful. Thanks!
Show threadGeorge MusserNov 8, 2022
@scottking @effies @phildini did you manage to get verification to work on your WP site?
Show threadScott KingNov 8, 2022
@gmusser @effies @phildini no. I gave up.
Show threadNour Agha Nov 8, 2022
@effies @phildini I think I see the problem! The link in your profile needs to be in the format https://domain.tld rather than just domain.tld, so that it becomes a hyperlink.
Show threadFabio ManganielloNov 8, 2022
@phildini worth mentioning that it works for any HTML element in the page as long as it has a rel attribute, even if it's a <link> element in the head. This can be especially useful for JS-heavy websites, where an <a> element may not be rendered statically and therefore not picked up by the crawler.
Show threadJeenaNov 8, 2022
@phildini I've done it a long time ago, but I never understood what this functionality was for until I read your comment. Thanks for clearing this up for me :D
Show threadBarry Schwartz Nov 9, 2022

@jeena
The main problem for me is the guy vouching for me this way is me, and I'm a jerk.

But for most people it's fine.
@phildini

Show threadMatt DoveyNov 8, 2022

@phildini is this in the head, alongside other meta tags, or in the body? It feels like meta-information but I wouldn't expect A tags up there

(and thank you!)

Show threadSharon MachlisNov 8, 2022
@mattdovey @phildini It worked for me in the body
Show threadS. Z. AttwellNov 8, 2022
@phildini took me a few tries but it worked - thanks for sharing this for people!
Show threadDavid MeyerNov 8, 2022

@phildini One aside: you don't need text in the chunk of HTML so

<a rel="me" href="https://your.server/@your_username"></a>

works if you don't want to add text to the page you are verifying with.

Show threadThomas BolonNov 8, 2022
@dmm @phildini also for GitHub, you must add the url as your website link, it works.
Show threadJess Torley (Wilson) [she/her]Nov 8, 2022
@phildini Does it work with a blog site? Because I tried to do mine and nothing has happened here.
Show threadJess Torley (Wilson) [she/her]Nov 8, 2022
@phildini I added an html gadget on one sidebar with the code from here, but it still doesn't seem to be happening.
Show threadNuwan JayawardeneNov 8, 2022
@shakespearenut @phildini is your blog on Wordpress?
Show threadJess Torley (Wilson) [she/her]Nov 9, 2022
@nuwanjay @phildini It's on Blogger. It is linked on my profile.
Show threadxylemicNov 8, 2022
@phildini but does it come with a badge 😬
Show threadChisoNov 8, 2022
@phildini
@vunderkind
Show threadRomy SommerNov 8, 2022
@phildini Thank you for the tip and code. You made it really easy!
Show threadLonepineNov 8, 2022
@phildini Interested.
Show threadGeoffrey Gavalda :pirate:Nov 8, 2022
@phildini i gotta say that i'm lucky as a journalist to be able to edit my own author page with html. I guess not a lot of people can do that, nor even know how, including their sysadmins, sometimes...
Show threadChristian Pearce T ✝️🏃🏻‍♂️🐕Nov 8, 2022
@phildini 🙋‍♂️I tried that and it didn't work for me. Not sure I was told to give it time. Is there a backend process?
Show threadGareth WilliamsNov 8, 2022
@phildini is there a human reviewing these or is it automatic? Having control over a domain / website is pretty easy, anyone could register and set up a site to 'verify' themselves?
Show threadLongwingNov 8, 2022
@phildini Is there a way to do this directly in DNS, like a TXT record or something?
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@Longwing not currently, but I bet that could be added if you’re interested in working on it!
Show threadJulietteNov 8, 2022
@phildini hi I appreciate you offering to verify however I do not have a domain
Show threadEBHaukNov 8, 2022

@phildini I was looking for some help with this. I have a very basic go-daddy site (cheapest version) and was stumped.

Thanks :D

Show threadJens HannemannNov 8, 2022
@phildini Hmm, I literally copied and pasted the link into my index.html. I see the hit from Mastodon in my server logs on hitting the save button, but no green check on my profile link. Thoughts?
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@JensHannemann huh... the only thing I can think is maybe it mis-parsed the page or didn't see the rel="me" portion? It's that bit that's the special sauce, really.
Show threadJens HannemannNov 8, 2022
@phildini Still no dice. I tried a page with a single, super-simple HTML document on top of my normal index page, but nothing. I'm sure the link is in the HTML when I pull it via wget, so the mastodon instance should see it. I do not see my server mastodon.online hit my access logs right now, so it may be a performance issue. It's one of the bigger instances, and they may have delayed/switched that off for now. I'll wait a couple of days before taking this up again. Thanks for your feedback!
Show threadZakNov 8, 2022
@phildini
keybase seems to have had some form of mastadon attestation workflow, but it's been broken for a while. can we not do better than link-backs?
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022

@chalk maybe we can!

I’m sure there’s chatter about this in the GitHub or the #mastodev hashtag

But any solution that involves a centralized company that can be bought and dismantled by Zoom, or which requires users to learn PGP, is unlikely to go over well

Show threadem dee (they/them)Nov 8, 2022
@phildini this may sound silly, but which file should we drop the ref into? any particular place?
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@meoutloud not silly at all! It should be on whatever page controls the link you put in your profile. For many people that's going to be the home page.
Show threadem dee (they/them)Nov 8, 2022
@phildini ah, ok. I wasn't sure if it needed to be in .htaccess or something. Thank you 😊
Show threadMarco BrescianiNov 8, 2022
@phildini
It's a bit of time I'm trying, with no luck.
Now I've added the link only here https://github.com/marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp#maintainers in the @AAMfP link, adding the README.md in my profile... But I'm probably going something wrong.
GitHub - marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp: A short and small helper for Toyota Kata practitioners

A short and small helper for Toyota Kata practitioners - GitHub - marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp: A short and small helper for Toyota Kata practitioners

GitHub
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@AAMfP did you re-add the link to your profile after?
Show threadMarco BrescianiNov 8, 2022
@phildini
Yep. Not sure I did it correctly though: I've added the link to the README.md file: https://github.com/marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp/blob/master/README.md
TKCompanionApp/README.md at master · marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp

A short and small helper for Toyota Kata practitioners - TKCompanionApp/README.md at master · marcoXbresciani/TKCompanionApp

GitHub
Show threadphildiniNov 8, 2022
@AAMfP I don't see any links with rel="me" when I "view source" on that page... perhaps getting overwritten some how?
Show threadMarco BrescianiNov 8, 2022
@phildini
It's there. That's why I don't understand.