---
dialect: termd
title: Byline glossary
type: Glossary
description: The vocabulary of Byline — how we name things, and how we don't.
tags:
  - glossary
  - byline
---

::: term id="article"

# Article

## Definition
A piece of writing published on Byline by a writer. An article has a title,
a body, and exactly one author.

## Usage
- Use "article" for the published artifact, never for work in progress (that is a draft).
- Use the singular in UI labels ("Write an article"), the plural only in counts ("12 articles").

## Examples
+ "Your article is now live."
- "Your post is now live." (a post is a social-media notion, not a Byline one)
- "Your story is now live." (deprecated term, see story)

## Synonyms
- Post

## Related
- draft
- feed
- writer

::: term id="draft"

# Draft

## Definition
An article that has not been published yet. Drafts are only visible to
their writer and can be edited freely.

## Scope
Publishing workflow. A draft becomes an article on publish; an article
never becomes a draft again (unpublishing archives it instead).

## Usage
- Say "draft", not "unpublished article" — the state has a name.

## Examples
+ "You have 3 drafts."
- "You have 3 unpublished articles."

## Related
- article
- writer

::: term id="writer"

# Writer

## Definition
A Byline account that has published at least one article or holds at
least one draft. Every writer is also a reader.

## Usage
- "Writer" is the role in product copy and code identifiers alike (`writer_id`, never `author_id`).
- "Author" is acceptable only in a byline credit ("By …") — everywhere else, use "writer".

## Examples
+ "Follow this writer to see new articles in your feed."
- "Follow this blogger." (rejected term, see blogger)

## Synonyms
- Author

## Related
- follower
- article

::: term id="follower"

# Follower

## Definition
A reader who follows a writer. New articles by that writer appear in the
follower's feed.

## Examples
+ "1,204 followers"
- "1,204 subscribers" (subscription implies payment on Byline)

## Related
- writer
- feed

::: term id="feed"

# Feed

## Definition
The personalized, reverse-chronological stream of published articles from
all writers a reader follows. The feed is Byline's start screen.

## Usage
- There is exactly one feed per reader — say "your feed", never "a feed".

## Related
- article
- follower

::: term id="topic" status="draft"

# Topic

## Definition
A curated subject label that writers may attach to an article (planned:
at most three per article). Term is in clarification until the tagging
concept is decided.

## Related
- article

::: term id="story" status="deprecated"

# Story

## Definition
Historical name for an article, used before launch. Retired because
"story" collides with the ephemeral story format of social networks.

## ReplacedBy
- article

::: term id="blogger" status="rejected"

# Blogger

## Definition
Rejected name for the writer role. It frames Byline as a blog host and
excludes journalists, researchers, and teams — the audiences Byline
targets. Kept in the glossary so it is not reintroduced.

## Related
- writer

{
  "dialect": "termd",
  "terms": [
    {
      "id": "article",
      "term": "Article",
      "status": "approved",
      "definition": "A piece of writing published on Byline by a writer. An article has a title,\na body, and exactly one author.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [
        "Use \"article\" for the published artifact, never for work in progress (that is a draft).",
        "Use the singular in UI labels (\"Write an article\"), the plural only in counts (\"12 articles\")."
      ],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [
          "\"Your article is now live.\""
        ],
        "negative": [
          "\"Your post is now live.\" (a post is a social-media notion, not a Byline one)",
          "\"Your story is now live.\" (deprecated term, see story)"
        ]
      },
      "synonyms": [
        "Post"
      ],
      "related": [
        "draft",
        "feed",
        "writer"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "draft",
      "term": "Draft",
      "status": "approved",
      "definition": "An article that has not been published yet. Drafts are only visible to\ntheir writer and can be edited freely.",
      "scope": "Publishing workflow. A draft becomes an article on publish; an article\nnever becomes a draft again (unpublishing archives it instead).",
      "usage": [
        "Say \"draft\", not \"unpublished article\" — the state has a name."
      ],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [
          "\"You have 3 drafts.\""
        ],
        "negative": [
          "\"You have 3 unpublished articles.\""
        ]
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [
        "article",
        "writer"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "writer",
      "term": "Writer",
      "status": "approved",
      "definition": "A Byline account that has published at least one article or holds at\nleast one draft. Every writer is also a reader.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [
        "\"Writer\" is the role in product copy and code identifiers alike (`writer_id`, never `author_id`).",
        "\"Author\" is acceptable only in a byline credit (\"By …\") — everywhere else, use \"writer\"."
      ],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [
          "\"Follow this writer to see new articles in your feed.\""
        ],
        "negative": [
          "\"Follow this blogger.\" (rejected term, see blogger)"
        ]
      },
      "synonyms": [
        "Author"
      ],
      "related": [
        "follower",
        "article"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "follower",
      "term": "Follower",
      "status": "approved",
      "definition": "A reader who follows a writer. New articles by that writer appear in the\nfollower's feed.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [
          "\"1,204 followers\""
        ],
        "negative": [
          "\"1,204 subscribers\" (subscription implies payment on Byline)"
        ]
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [
        "writer",
        "feed"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "feed",
      "term": "Feed",
      "status": "approved",
      "definition": "The personalized, reverse-chronological stream of published articles from\nall writers a reader follows. The feed is Byline's start screen.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [
        "There is exactly one feed per reader — say \"your feed\", never \"a feed\"."
      ],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [],
        "negative": []
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [
        "article",
        "follower"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "topic",
      "term": "Topic",
      "status": "draft",
      "definition": "A curated subject label that writers may attach to an article (planned:\nat most three per article). Term is in clarification until the tagging\nconcept is decided.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [],
        "negative": []
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [
        "article"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "story",
      "term": "Story",
      "status": "deprecated",
      "definition": "Historical name for an article, used before launch. Retired because\n\"story\" collides with the ephemeral story format of social networks.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [],
        "negative": []
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [],
      "replacedBy": [
        "article"
      ],
      "sources": []
    },
    {
      "id": "blogger",
      "term": "Blogger",
      "status": "rejected",
      "definition": "Rejected name for the writer role. It frames Byline as a blog host and\nexcludes journalists, researchers, and teams — the audiences Byline\ntargets. Kept in the glossary so it is not reintroduced.",
      "scope": null,
      "usage": [],
      "examples": {
        "positive": [],
        "negative": []
      },
      "synonyms": [],
      "related": [
        "writer"
      ],
      "replacedBy": [],
      "sources": []
    }
  ]
}