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    It’s not clear how this is much better in practical terms (leaving aside the fact that it blessedly avoids using XML-RPC) than the older methods such as Pingback and Traceback from twenty years ago.

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      Webmentions is an iteration of Pingbacks/Tracebacks so improvements are iterative as well.

      • It’s a little simpler because it doesn’t use XML-RPC and only requires HTTP
      • The new protocol pays much more attention to DoS prevention allowing async verification
      • The new protocol spec is generally better structured suggesting more security considerations for implementers of varying experience
      • There are also a few extensions to Webmentions with no substitutes for Pingbacks/Tracebacks addressing spam, update propagation, and access control, to name a few
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        The sibling comment explains it quite well, I just want to add that the options you mention and WebMentions are not mutually exclusive. One can support both on their website.

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        It’s not a full solution, but I simply allow anonymous comments so people don’t have to sign up. Oddly, virtually all the spam I get isn’t anonymous.

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          Huh, this actually looks like it could be viable as outbound federation from Discourse. I’ve suggested it: https://meta.discourse.org/t/federation-support-for-discourse/90921/84