w3c / w3c/activitystreams

Dropping the HTTP fallback for the context URL

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Description

In Section 2.1:

Implementations producing Activity Streams 2.0 documents SHOULD include a @context property with a value that includes a reference to the normative Activity Streams 2.0 JSON-LD @context definition using the URL " https://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams". Implementations MAY use the alternative URL " http://www.w3.org/ns/activitystreams" instead.

This HTTP fallback was added because it was originally an http: URL.

I'm not sure if it's directly harmful, but http: URLs are few and far between on the Web in 2026. Is there an opportunity to deprecate this fallback so it could be removed in a future version of the document?

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with Section 2.1 and review the linked normative Activity Streams 2.0 JSON-LD context definition, then examine the existing discussion in this issue. Determine whether the HTTP fallback should be deprecated and what future-version wording would be appropriate. Done means the specification change and deprecation path have been agreed and documented.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Domain
documentation
Issue type
Documentation
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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