Publications features

Publications features

Main thread with most of the ideas and the outline of job stories below. https://chatgpt.com/g/g-p-69456b5516d88191a86c8311ce28592d-substack-for-data/shared/c/695353e2-cc70-8321-afda-587074d83db9?owner_user_id=user-NwfJc4WN4M2O0Lnz6rdPWGot

Publication Feature Overview (v1 - full 2025-12-29)

The Publication feature provides a first-class container for organizing posts on Data Hub, analogous to Substack’s publication model. Rather than publishing as an individual user, content is authored and presented under a named publication, which serves as the primary identity, URL namespace, and management unit for posts, settings, and audience interactions.

On first registration, a user is guided through a lightweight flow to create a publication, including selecting a unique publication name and URL within the Data Hub namespace. This publication becomes the default context for content creation and management. Each publication has a dedicated dashboard, a public landing page, and supports standard pages such as a welcome post and an about page.

Technically, a publication closely resembles an organization or project container, but is optimized for editorial workflows and reader-facing presentation.

The current dashboard would likely migrate to the publication dashboard and the user dashboard would just list the users publications.

Job Stories

Create a new publication (e.g. from the user dashboard)

When I am logged into Data Hub and viewing my user dashboard, I want to be able to start the same publication-creation flow used at signup, so that I can create an additional publication with its own identity, URL, and settings.

Create a publication on signup (skip for now?)

When I sign up for Data Hub for the first time, I want to be guided through creating a publication with a unique name and URL, so that I immediately have a clear home for publishing content.

Access a publication dashboard

When I have created a publication, I want to land in a publication-specific dashboard, so that I can manage posts, settings, and activity in one focused place.

Publish posts under a publication identity

When I create or edit a post, I want it to belong to a specific publication rather than my personal user account, so that readers experience a coherent editorial identity.

Have a non-empty publication by default

When my publication is first created, I want it to include a default post and an about page, so that my publication is not empty and has a minimal public presence from the start.

Configure publication settings

When I manage my publication, I want to edit publication-level settings such as metadata and configuration, so that I can control how my publication appears and behaves without editing code directly.

Create additional posts within a publication

When I am working in my publication dashboard, I want to create new posts associated with that publication, so that all related content is grouped and navigable in one place.

Change publication details later

When my publication evolves, I want to be able to change its name, URL, or settings later, so that early setup decisions do not lock me into permanent choices.

If you want, the next step could be to map these job stories to concrete data models and flows (publication, post, user, GitHub integration), or to explicitly separate MVP vs later iterations.

Publish posts under a publication identity

When I create or edit a post, I want it to belong to a specific publication rather than my personal user account, so that readers experience a coherent editorial identity.

Have a non-empty publication by default

When my publication is first created, I want it to include a default post and an about page, so that my publication is not empty and has a minimal public presence from the start.

Configure publication settings

When I manage my publication, I want to edit publication-level settings such as metadata and configuration, so that I can control how my publication appears and behaves without editing code directly.

Create additional posts within a publication

When I am working in my publication dashboard, I want to create new posts associated with that publication, so that all related content is grouped and navigable in one place.

Change publication details later

When my publication evolves, I want to be able to change its name, URL, or settings later, so that early setup decisions do not lock me into permanent choices.