[docs] Update docs to differentiate between Service, Person, and Application actor types, add FEDERATION.md linking to docs (#4566)

# Description

> If this is a code change, please include a summary of what you've coded, and link to the issue(s) it closes/implements.
>
> If this is a documentation change, please briefly describe what you've changed and why.

Just realized our docs were out of date for the different actor types we use. This fixes that, and adds a FEDERATION.md document pointing to the online docs + markdown files in the repo.

Relates to https://codeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/issues/4565

## Checklist

Please put an x inside each checkbox to indicate that you've read and followed it: `[ ]` -> `[x]`

If this is a documentation change, only the first checkbox must be filled (you can delete the others if you want).

- [x] I/we have read the [GoToSocial contribution guidelines](https://codeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/src/branch/main/CONTRIBUTING.md).
- [x] I/we have discussed the proposed changes already, either in an issue on the repository, or in the Matrix chat.
- [x] I/we have not leveraged AI to create the proposed changes.

Reviewed-on: https://codeberg.org/superseriousbusiness/gotosocial/pulls/4566
Co-authored-by: tobi <tobi.smethurst@protonmail.com>
Co-committed-by: tobi <tobi.smethurst@protonmail.com>
This commit is contained in:
tobi
2025-11-19 17:39:46 +01:00
committed by tobi
parent 7cca808919
commit ecececcf09
2 changed files with 10 additions and 3 deletions
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# Federation
Please see the [Federation](https://docs.gotosocial.org/en/latest/federation/) section of the online documentation.
You can view the Markdown files that this documentation is built from [here](./docs/federation/).
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# Actors and Actor Properties
## `Service` vs `Person` actors
## `Service` vs `Person` vs `Application` actors
GoToSocial serves most accounts as the ActivityStreams `Person` type described [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-vocabulary/#dfn-person).
Accounts that users have selected to mark as bot accounts, however, will use the `Service` type described [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-vocabulary/#dfn-service).
Accounts that users have selected to mark as bot accounts, however, will use the `Application` type described [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-vocabulary/#dfn-application).
This type distinction can be used by remote servers to distinguish between bot accounts and "regular" user accounts.
The "instance service" account, which occasionally makes requests to remote endpoints on the instance's behalf, uses the `Service` type described [here](https://www.w3.org/TR/activitystreams-vocabulary/#dfn-service). Typically, remote instances will only see this actor making http-signed requests for media files.
If desired, this type distinction can be used by remote servers to distinguish between "regular" user accounts and other types. Typically, this is done using a "bot" flag on the web and/or client API.
## Inbox