Gossip - Modern Social Networking Platform

Overview

Gossip is a feature-rich social networking platform designed to connect people through shared interests, groups, and personal interactions. The platform combines traditional social networking capabilities with modern features like gamification, real-time interactions, and comprehensive privacy controls.

Key Features

Core Features

• User Management

  • Registration and authentication
  • Profile customization
  • Privacy settings
  • User roles and permissions

• Content Sharing

  • Text, image, and media posts
  • Privacy-controlled content visibility
  • Anonymous posting option
  • Rich text formatting

• Social Interactions

  • Friend/connection system
  • Post likes and reactions
  • Threaded comments
  • @mentions and tagging

• Groups & Communities

  • Public, private, and secret groups
  • Group moderation tools
  • Group-specific content
  • Role-based permissions

• Messaging

  • Private messaging
  • Group chats
  • Real-time notifications
  • Read receipts

Advanced Features

• Gamification System

  • Points and reputation
  • Achievements and badges
  • Leaderboards
  • Rewards for participation

• Real-time Features

  • Live notifications
  • Typing indicators
  • Presence awareness
  • Live content updates

• Content Discovery

  • Personalized feed
  • Trending content
  • Interest-based recommendations
  • Advanced search

• Platform Enhancements

  • Email notifications
  • API rate limiting
  • Caching layer
  • Analytics and logging
  • API documentation

Technology Stack

Backend

• Framework: Node.js with Express
• Database: PostgreSQL
• Caching: Redis
• Authentication: JWT (JSON Web Tokens)
• Real-time: Socket.IO
• Documentation: Swagger/OpenAPI

Frontend (Planned)

• Framework: React with Vite
• State Management: Redux Toolkit / Context API
• Styling: CSS-in-JS (Styled Components/Emotion)
• Routing: React Router
• API Client: Axios/React Query

DevOps & Infrastructure

• Containerization: Docker (planned)
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions (planned)
• Monitoring: Prometheus with Grafana (implemented)
• Testing: Jest, Supertest, Cypress (planned)

System Architecture

The application follows a layered architecture:

1. Presentation Layer: API endpoints and WebSocket connections
2. Business Logic Layer: Controllers and services
3. Data Access Layer: Models and database interactions
4. Infrastructure Layer: Cross-cutting concerns like logging, caching, security

Key Design Principles

• RESTful API design
• Service-oriented architecture
• Repository pattern for data access
• Circuit breakers for resilience
• Rate limiting for API protection
• Comprehensive error handling

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14+)
• PostgreSQL (v12+)
• Redis (v6+)
• npm or yarn

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/yourusername/gossip.git
cd gossip

2. Install dependencies

npm install

3. Set up environment variables

cp .env.example .env
# Edit .env with your configuration

4. Run database migrations

npm run migrate

5. Start the server

npm run dev

Database Setup

The application uses PostgreSQL with structured migrations. The database schema includes:

• User management tables
• Content and interaction tables
• Social connection tables
• Group and membership tables
• Gamification system tables
• System management tables

Run migrations using:

npm run migrate

API Documentation

API documentation is available at /api-docs when the server is running. It provides:

• Endpoint specifications
• Request/response formats
• Authentication requirements
• Example requests

Security Features

• JWT-based authentication
• Password hashing with bcrypt
• CSRF protection
• Rate limiting
• Input validation
• SQL injection prevention
• XSS protection
• Circuit breakers for dependent services

Resilience & Performance

• Redis caching for performance
• Memory fallbacks for service failures
• Database query monitoring
• Batch processing for high-volume operations
• Comprehensive logging
• Health check endpoints

Testing

The project includes:

• Unit tests for business logic
• Integration tests for API endpoints
• Edge case tests for validation
• Load testing configurations
• Security testing tooling

Run tests with:

npm test

Project Roadmap

Short-term Goals

• Complete frontend implementation in React
• Add media upload and processing features
• Implement real-time notifications
• Enhance mobile responsiveness

Medium-term Goals

• Build native mobile applications
• Implement content recommendation engine
• Add video streaming capabilities
• Develop plugin/extension system

Long-term Vision

• Create a decentralized social networking option
• Implement AI-driven content moderation
• Support third-party app integrations
• Build developer marketplace for platform extensions

Contributing

We welcome contributions to Gossip! Please see our Contributing Guidelines for details on how to submit pull requests, report issues, and suggest features.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgements

• Open source libraries and frameworks that made this project possible
• The community for feedback and contributions
• All developers and designers who contributed to the project

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© 2025 Gossip. All rights reserved.