@kopper That's a fair point about the Mastodon API—the lexicographic ID requirement and the pagination assumptions are good concrete examples of how standardization quietly closes off design space in ways nobody intended.

I think this exchange has been useful for me in clarifying that we're probably starting from different premises about what C2S is for. If frontend portability isn't the goal, then the case against standardizing the client API makes a lot of sense. I just can't quite let go of the feeling that portability at that layer is what most people imagine when they hear “C2S”—though I'll admit the spec itself is ambiguous enough that neither of us is obviously wrong.

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to respond. Lots to think about.