fix: resolve frontend timestamp overwrite, and fix test fixtures

siteapps/socialmedia/test_web_views.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 """Tests for siteapps/socialmedia/web_views.py"""
 
 import uuid
+from datetime import datetime, timezone
 from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
 
 from django.contrib.messages import get_messages
@@ -28,6 +29,9 @@ def make_user(email="viewer@example.com", is_staff=False, is_superuser=False):
     "species": [{"name": "Robin"}],
     "media": {"url": "https://example.com/img.jpg", "is_video": False},
     "created_by": "testuser",
+    # Deliberately distinct from encounter_datetime so tests can catch _normalize_post
+    # falling back to the wrong field (see WildeBackyardBackend serialize_post).
+    "created": "2024-01-01T09:15:00Z",
     "encounter_datetime": "2024-01-01T12:00:00Z",
     "additional_info": {"camera_model": "Canon", "habitat_type": "Forest"},
     "geocoded_location": "Portland, OR",
@@ -76,6 +80,11 @@ def test_authenticated_shows_posts(self, mock_client_class):
         response = self.client.get(self.url)
         self.assertEqual(response.status_code, 200)
         self.assertEqual(len(response.context["posts"]), 1)
+        # Must reflect the post's actual creation time, not encounter_datetime.
+        self.assertEqual(
+            response.context["posts"][0]["created"],
+            datetime(2024, 1, 1, 9, 15, tzinfo=timezone.utc),
+        )
 
     @patch("siteapps.socialmedia.web_views.BackendAPIClient")
     def test_species_filter_passed_to_api(self, mock_client_class):
@@ -548,6 +557,9 @@ def test_success_returns_posts(self, mock_client_class):
         data = response.json()
         self.assertIn("posts", data)
         self.assertFalse(data["has_more"])
+        # JSON endpoint passes the raw ISO string through (JS parses it), and it
+        # must be the post's actual creation time, not encounter_datetime.
+        self.assertEqual(data["posts"][0]["created"], "2024-01-01T09:15:00Z")
 
     @patch("siteapps.socialmedia.web_views.BackendAPIClient")
     def test_api_failure_returns_500(self, mock_client_class):

siteapps/socialmedia/web_views.py

@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 from django.http import JsonResponse
 from django.shortcuts import redirect, render
 from django.urls import reverse
+from django.utils.dateparse import parse_datetime
 
 from siteapps.users.api_client import BackendAPIClient
 
@@ -48,7 +49,10 @@ def _normalize_post(post):
     post["media_url"] = media.get("url")
     post["is_video"] = media.get("is_video", False)
     post["user_name"] = post.get("created_by")
-    post["created"] = post.get("encounter_datetime")
+    # API returns "created" as an ISO string; the |date: template filter silently
+    # renders "" for a raw string, so it must be parsed into a datetime here.
+    raw_created = post.get("created")
+    post["created"] = parse_datetime(raw_created) if isinstance(raw_created, str) else raw_created
     additional = post.get("additional_info") or {}
     post["camera_model"] = additional.get("camera_model")
     post["iucn_habitat_lvl1"] = additional.get("iucn_habitat_lvl1_name")
@@ -677,7 +681,7 @@ def load_more_posts(request):
             "media_url": media_url,
             "is_video": is_video,
             "user_name": post.get("created_by"),
-            "created": post.get("encounter_datetime"),
+            "created": post.get("created"),
             "geocoded_location": post.get("geocoded_location"),
             "likes_count": post.get("likes_count", 0),
             "comments_count": post.get("comments_count", 0),

siteapps/templates/socialmedia/feed.html

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {% extends "_base.html" %}
 {% load static %}
+{% load humanize %}
 {% block title %}
     Wildlife Feed - WildeBackyard
 {% endblock title %}
@@ -340,7 +341,7 @@ <h5 class="card-title">{{ post.title }}</h5>
                                     <p class="card-text text-muted small">
                                         <i class="bi bi-person"></i> {{ post.user_name|default:"Anonymous" }}
                                         <span class="mx-2">•</span>
-                                        <i class="bi bi-calendar"></i> {{ post.created|date:"M d, Y" }}
+                                        <i class="bi bi-calendar"></i> {{ post.created|naturaltime }}
                                     </p>
                                     {% if post.body %}<p class="card-text">{{ post.body|truncatewords:30 }}</p>{% endif %}
                                     {% if post.geocoded_location %}
@@ -410,9 +411,28 @@ <h5 class="card-title">{{ post.title }}</h5>
 
 function formatDate(dateString) {
     if (!dateString) return '';
-    const date = new Date(dateString);
-    const options = { year: 'numeric', month: 'short', day: 'numeric' };
-    return date.toLocaleDateString('en-US', options);
+    const diffSeconds = Math.floor((Date.now() - new Date(dateString).getTime()) / 1000);
+    if (diffSeconds < 1) return 'now';
+
+    // Mirrors Django's humanize naturaltime filter (used for the initial page load)
+    // so posts loaded via infinite scroll read the same way.
+    const DAY = 86400;
+    const steps = [
+        [60, 1, 'a second ago', 'seconds'],
+        [3600, 60, 'a minute ago', 'minutes'],
+        [DAY, 3600, 'an hour ago', 'hours'],
+        [DAY * 7, DAY, '1 day ago', 'days'],
+        [DAY * 30, DAY * 7, '1 week ago', 'weeks'],
+        [DAY * 365, DAY * 30, '1 month ago', 'months'],
+        [Infinity, DAY * 365, '1 year ago', 'years'],
+    ];
+
+    for (const [limit, divisor, singular, unit] of steps) {
+        if (diffSeconds < limit) {
+            const n = Math.floor(diffSeconds / divisor);
+            return n <= 1 ? singular : `${n} ${unit} ago`;
+        }
+    }
 }
 
 function truncateWords(text, wordLimit) {