A show's Broadcast section no longer claims a Since the feed cannot know

A feed is a window on a show, the last fifty or hundred episodes, and the
oldest item the directory holds says when that window starts, not when
the show began. Live, a podcast running for years read "Since: 2026-06",
which is exactly the false claim OpenBroadcast forbids a platform to
make. The key is now left to the owner to write; the query that fed it
goes with it.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Fable 5.1 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01S7yeJUHGxA4P5N74xnsRPQ

Author: ralyodio

README.md

@@ -258,7 +258,8 @@ curl -X POST https://rssamplifier.com/api/discover \
 Every author page carries `<link rel="openprofile">` to `/authors/{slug}/openprofile.md`, the
 person as one portable file: identity block, Accounts (their `rel="me"` links), Topics (their feeds'
 subjects), and a Broadcast section ([OpenBroadcast](https://logicsrc.com/openbroadcast)) for every
-podcast or show they publish, with only the facts their own feed states. The file never fills in
+podcast or show they publish, with only the facts their own feed states (not `Since`: a feed is a
+window on a show, and the oldest episode the directory holds is not when the show began). The file never fills in
 what the person did not say: no `Seeking`, `Pays`, `Charges`, no Guest section, and no email even
 when the API republishes one.
 

apps/web/src/lib/authorProfile.js

@@ -25,18 +25,16 @@ export async function loadAuthorProfile(slug) {
 
   const feeds = person.feeds ?? [];
   const feedIds = feeds.map((f) => String(f.id));
-  const [profile, topicsByFeed, firstByFeed] = await Promise.all([
+  const [profile, topicsByFeed] = await Promise.all([
     profiles.profileForAuthor(client, String(person.id)),
     profiles.keywordsForFeeds(client, feedIds),
-    profiles.firstPublishedAt(client, feedIds),
   ]);
 
   const base = siteUrl();
   const built = authorProfile({
     person,
     feeds,
     topicsByFeed,
-    firstByFeed,
     base,
     overrides: profile?.overrides ?? null,
   });

apps/web/src/lib/openprofile.js

@@ -20,6 +20,12 @@ import {
  * Guest section: those are the person's to write, through the overlay, and
  * absent means unstated.
  *
+ * `Since` is deliberately not written either. A feed is a window on a show,
+ * the last fifty or hundred episodes, and the oldest item the directory holds
+ * says when that window starts, not when the show did. A podcast running since
+ * 2019 would read "Since: 2026-06", which is exactly the false claim the spec
+ * forbids; the owner can write the year themselves.
+ *
  * Email is deliberately not in the generated file even when the table has it.
  * The API republishes an address the author published; the profile is a
  * document other directories will copy, and the owner adds `Email` to it
@@ -68,18 +74,6 @@ function label(network) {
   return names[network] ?? network.charAt(0).toUpperCase() + network.slice(1);
 }
 
-/**
- * `YYYY-MM` from an ISO stamp, or null when it does not parse.
- *
- * @param {string|null|undefined} iso
- * @returns {string|null}
- */
-export function yearMonth(iso) {
-  if (!iso) return null;
-  const m = /^(\d{4})-(\d{2})/.exec(String(iso));
-  return m ? `${m[1]}-${m[2]}` : null;
-}
-
 /**
  * The generated document, before the owner's corrections.
  *
@@ -89,12 +83,11 @@ export function yearMonth(iso) {
  *   feeds: Array<{ id: string, slug: string, title: string, kind?: string|null, role?: string|null,
  *                  feed_url?: string|null, site_url?: string|null, language?: string|null }>,
  *   topicsByFeed?: Map<string, string[]>,
- *   firstByFeed?: Map<string, string>,
  *   base: string,
  * }} input
  * @returns {import('@profullstack/openprofile').OpenProfileDoc}
  */
-export function generateAuthorProfile({ person, feeds, topicsByFeed, firstByFeed, base }) {
+export function generateAuthorProfile({ person, feeds, topicsByFeed, base }) {
   const links = (person.links ?? []).filter((l) => l.network !== 'email');
   const handleLink = HANDLE_NETWORKS.map((n) => links.find((l) => l.network === n && l.handle)).find(
     Boolean,
@@ -136,7 +129,6 @@ export function generateAuthorProfile({ person, feeds, topicsByFeed, firstByFeed
       Show: f.title,
       Kind: BROADCAST_KINDS.get(String(f.kind)) ?? null,
       Language: f.language ?? null,
-      Since: yearMonth(firstByFeed?.get(String(f.id))),
       Feed: f.feed_url ?? null,
       Listen: f.site_url ?? `${base}/${encodeURIComponent(String(f.slug))}`,
       Topics: (topicsByFeed?.get(String(f.id)) ?? []).slice(0, 8).join(', ') || null,
@@ -150,7 +142,6 @@ export function generateAuthorProfile({ person, feeds, topicsByFeed, firstByFeed
           Show: shows[0].title,
           Kind: BROADCAST_KINDS.get(String(shows[0].kind)) ?? null,
           Language: shows[0].language ?? null,
-          Since: yearMonth(firstByFeed?.get(String(shows[0].id))),
           Feed: shows[0].feed_url ?? null,
           Listen: shows[0].site_url ?? `${base}/${encodeURIComponent(String(shows[0].slug))}`,
           Topics: (topicsByFeed?.get(String(shows[0].id)) ?? []).slice(0, 8).join(', ') || null,

apps/web/test/openprofile.test.js

@@ -9,7 +9,6 @@ import {
   overridesFromBody,
   overridesFromForm,
   profileUrl,
-  yearMonth,
 } from '../src/lib/openprofile.js';
 import { claimVerdict, isOwner, linksBack } from '../src/lib/profileAuth.js';
 import { principalFromToken } from '../src/lib/openaccess.js';
@@ -57,10 +56,9 @@ const TOPICS = new Map([
   ['f1', ['history', 'mathematics']],
   ['f2', ['mathematics', 'writing']],
 ]);
-const FIRST = new Map([['f1', '2024-11-15T00:00:00.000Z']]);
 
 test('the generated file says what the author published, and nothing they did not', () => {
-  const doc = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, firstByFeed: FIRST, base: BASE });
+  const doc = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, base: BASE });
 
   assert.equal(doc.name, 'Ada Lovelace');
   const identity = Object.fromEntries(doc.identity.map((e) => [e.key, e.value]));
@@ -84,12 +82,12 @@ test('the generated file says what the author published, and nothing they did no
     Show: 'The Analytical Engine',
     Kind: 'podcast',
     Language: 'en',
-    Since: '2024-11',
     Feed: 'https://ada.example/podcast/feed.xml',
     Listen: 'https://ada.example/podcast',
     Topics: 'history, mathematics',
   });
   assert.equal('Seeking' in shows[0], false);
+  assert.equal('Since' in shows[0], false, 'the feed window is not when the show started');
   assert.equal(doc.sections.some((s) => s.name === 'guest'), false, 'no Guest section unless the person wrote one');
 
   const links = doc.sections.find((s) => s.name === 'links');
@@ -98,7 +96,7 @@ test('the generated file says what the author published, and nothing they did no
 
 test('two owned shows become ### groups in one Broadcast section', () => {
   const feeds = [FEEDS[0], { ...FEEDS[2], role: 'owner' }];
-  const doc = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, firstByFeed: FIRST, base: BASE });
+  const doc = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, base: BASE });
   const shows = broadcasts(doc);
   assert.deepEqual(shows.map((s) => s.Show), ['The Analytical Engine', 'Somebody Elses Show']);
   assert.equal(shows[1].Listen, `${BASE}/other-show`, 'a show with no site listens on its directory page');
@@ -110,7 +108,7 @@ test('the overlay wins per part, the rest stays generated, and the file round-tr
     identity: { Email: 'ada@example.com', Location: 'London', Avatar: null },
     sections: { guest: '- **Available**: yes\n- **Expertise**: early computing', links: 'none' },
   };
-  const { markdown, doc } = authorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, firstByFeed: FIRST, base: BASE, overrides });
+  const { markdown, doc } = authorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, base: BASE, overrides });
   assert.equal(doc.headline, 'Countess, programmer.');
   const identity = Object.fromEntries(doc.identity.map((e) => [e.key, e.value]));
   assert.equal(identity.Email, 'ada@example.com', 'the owner chose to publish it');
@@ -125,7 +123,7 @@ test('the overlay wins per part, the rest stays generated, and the file round-tr
 });
 
 test('a PUT body as Markdown becomes the whole overlay; as JSON it is a patch', () => {
-  const generated = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, firstByFeed: FIRST, base: BASE });
+  const generated = generateAuthorProfile({ person: ADA, feeds: FEEDS, topicsByFeed: TOPICS, base: BASE });
 
   const edited = '# Ada Lovelace\n\n- Kind: person\n- Web: https://ada.example\n\nCountess.\n\n## Guest\n\n- **Available**: yes\n';
   const fromMd = overridesFromBody({ contentType: 'text/markdown; charset=utf-8', text: edited, existing: null, generated });
@@ -235,7 +233,5 @@ test('an OpenAccess token yields a principal with scopes and an email when the h
 });
 
 test('small helpers', () => {
-  assert.equal(yearMonth('2024-11-15T00:00:00Z'), '2024-11');
-  assert.equal(yearMonth(null), null);
   assert.equal(profileUrl(BASE, 'ada lovelace'), `${BASE}/authors/ada%20lovelace/openprofile.md`);
 });

packages/db/src/profiles.js

@@ -143,31 +143,6 @@ export async function profilesForUser(db, userId) {
   return /** @type {any} */ (rows);
 }
 
-/**
- * When each feed first published, as `feed_id -> ISO date`, for the `Since`
- * key of a Broadcast section. Feeds with no dated item are absent.
- *
- * @param {Client} db
- * @param {string[]} feedIds
- * @returns {Promise<Map<string, string>>}
- */
-export async function firstPublishedAt(db, feedIds) {
-  const out = new Map();
-  if (feedIds.length === 0) return out;
-  const { rows } = await db.execute({
-    sql: `select feed_id, min(published_at) as first_at
-            from feed_items
-           where feed_id in (${feedIds.map(() => '?').join(',')})
-             and published_at is not null and published_at <> ''
-           group by feed_id`,
-    args: feedIds,
-  });
-  for (const row of rows) {
-    if (row.first_at) out.set(String(row.feed_id), String(row.first_at));
-  }
-  return out;
-}
-
 /**
  * The topics of several feeds at once, strongest first per feed, as
  * `feed_id -> keyword[]`. What the Topics of a profile and the `Topics` key of

packages/db/test/profiles.test.js

@@ -68,11 +68,7 @@ test('no row means no profile: the generated file stands', async () => {
   assert.equal(await profiles.profileForAuthor(db, ada.id), null);
 });
 
-test('the Since and Topics inputs come from the feeds themselves', async () => {
-  const first = await profiles.firstPublishedAt(db, [String(podcast.id), String(blog.id)]);
-  assert.equal(first.get(String(podcast.id)), '2024-11-15T00:00:00.000Z');
-  assert.equal(first.has(String(blog.id)), false, 'a feed with no dated item is absent');
-
+test('the Topics inputs come from the feeds themselves', async () => {
   const topics = await profiles.keywordsForFeeds(db, [String(podcast.id), String(blog.id)]);
   assert.deepEqual(topics.get(String(podcast.id)), ['history', 'mathematics'], 'category first, then by count');
   assert.deepEqual(topics.get(String(blog.id)), ['mathematics']);