"Rich" links feature?

Contribute Feature

AI-generated summary

The discussion explores the feasibility of implementing a “rich link” feature in Discourse, similar to Discord’s @game command. Canapin describes how Discord allows users to type keywords like @game to generate interactive cards with detailed information (e.g., store links, reviews). Canapin suggests that a core Discourse feature allowing admins to configure custom keywords and API credentials would be highly beneficial for community-specific use cases.

merefield responds by noting that a very similar concept previously existed under the name Mentionables. Developed by Angus and himself, this project is no longer functional due to a lack of funding and maintenance. However, merefield believes the codebase is likely salvageable if there is sufficient interest, referencing the original discussion thread.

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Hi! :blob-wave-reverse:

I don’t know if something similar already exists as a theme component or a plugin :thinking:

I’ve discovered a nice Discord feature today:

Writing @game asks for user input. You enter a game name, and if the game exists in their database, it creates a “rich” link.

Clicking the links opens a card with informations about the game (store links, screenshots, reviews, news, etc).

Having such a similar system in Discourse that admins could modify for their community would be very cool. You could @movie, @show, @band, whatever, as long as it is recognized and configured.

Ideally there would be a core feature, sufficient enough for admins to be able to add their own keywords and API credentials. Dunno how feasible it is so it wouldn’t require profound technical knowledge and one admin could share its own @movie rich link feature with other admins.

Anyway, I saw this, thought it was a neat feature, and immediately thought it would fit well in Discourse, too. :slight_smile:

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Yes, something very similar to this did exist, but maintenance was not funded, so it broke.

I very much doubt this still works.

Angus and I both worked on it for a good while:

with the right will it is almost certainly salvageable.

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