diff --git a/actions/apiaccount.php b/actions/apiaccount.php
index 6d5766916c..2be53122e1 100644
--- a/actions/apiaccount.php
+++ b/actions/apiaccount.php
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-# This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApiaccountAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
 
+class ApiaccountAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 	function verify_credentials($args, $apidata) {
 		parent::handle($args);
diff --git a/actions/apiblocks.php b/actions/apiblocks.php
index be96e87e1b..c9c7a00824 100644
--- a/actions/apiblocks.php
+++ b/actions/apiblocks.php
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-# This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApiblocksAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
+class ApiblocksAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 	function create($args, $apidata) {
 		parent::handle($args);
diff --git a/actions/apidirect_messages.php b/actions/apidirect_messages.php
index 477aa43294..351a4bb291 100644
--- a/actions/apidirect_messages.php
+++ b/actions/apidirect_messages.php
@@ -19,7 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-class Apidirect_messagesAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
+class Apidirect_messagesAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 	function direct_messages($args, $apidata) {
 		parent::handle($args);
diff --git a/actions/apifavorites.php b/actions/apifavorites.php
index 358079c860..db8ad1062d 100644
--- a/actions/apifavorites.php
+++ b/actions/apifavorites.php
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-# This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApifavoritesAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
+class ApifavoritesAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 	function favorites($args, $apidata) {
 		parent::handle($args);
diff --git a/actions/apifriendships.php b/actions/apifriendships.php
index feed86ef6c..4368f84d5e 100644
--- a/actions/apifriendships.php
+++ b/actions/apifriendships.php
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-# This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApifriendshipsAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
+class ApifriendshipsAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 
 	function create($args, $apidata) {
diff --git a/actions/apihelp.php b/actions/apihelp.php
index 8bcc09e69f..66a08c99a0 100644
--- a/actions/apihelp.php
+++ b/actions/apihelp.php
@@ -19,8 +19,9 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
-# This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApihelpAction extends Action {
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
+class ApihelpAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 	/* Returns the string "ok" in the requested format with a 200 OK HTTP status code.
 	 * URL:http://identi.ca/api/help/test.format
diff --git a/actions/apinotifications.php b/actions/apinotifications.php
index 9154cb3b92..98d96107d3 100644
--- a/actions/apinotifications.php
+++ b/actions/apinotifications.php
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
 # This naming convention looks real sick
-class ApinotificationsAction extends Action {
+class ApinotificationsAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 
 
 	function follow($args, $apidata) {
diff --git a/actions/apistatuses.php b/actions/apistatuses.php
index 89eabfcdc5..b438236439 100644
--- a/actions/apistatuses.php
+++ b/actions/apistatuses.php
@@ -19,28 +19,66 @@
 
 if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
 
+require_once(INSTALLDIR.'/lib/twitterapi.php');
+
 /* XXX: Please don't freak out about all the ugly comments in this file.
- * They are mostly in here for reference while I develop the
+ * They are mostly in here for reference while I work on the
  * API. I'll fix things up to make them look better later. -- Zach 
  */
-class ApistatusesAction extends Action {
+class ApistatusesAction extends TwitterapiAction {
 	
 	/*
-		Returns the 20 most recent statuses from non-protected users who have set a custom user icon. 
-		Does not require authentication.
-		
-		URL: http://identi.ca/api/statuses/public_timeline.format
-
-		Formats: xml, json, rss, atom
-	*/
+	 *  Returns the 20 most recent statuses from non-protected users who have set a custom
+	 *  user icon. Does not require authentication.
+	 *	
+	 *	URL: http://identi.ca/api/statuses/public_timeline.format
+     *
+	 *	Formats: xml, json, rss, atom
+	 */
 	function public_timeline($args, $apidata) {
 		parent::handle($args);
 
-		print "Public Timeline! requested content-type: " . $apidata['content-type'] . "\n";
+		if ($apidata['content-type'] == 'xml') {
+			header('Content-Type: application/xml; charset=utf-8');		
+			$notice = DB_DataObject::factory('notice');
+
+			# FIXME: bad performance
+			$notice->whereAdd('EXISTS (SELECT user.id from user where user.id = notice.profile_id)');
+			$notice->orderBy('created DESC, notice.id DESC');
+			$notice->limit(20);
+			$cnt = $notice->find();
+
+			common_start_xml();
+
+			// XXX: To really live up to the spec we need to build a list
+			// of notices by users who have custom avatars
+			if ($cnt > 0) {
+				common_element_start('statuses', array('type' => 'array'));
+				for ($i = 0; $i < 20; $i++) {
+					if ($notice->fetch()) {
+						$this->show_xml_status($notice);
+					} else {
+						// shouldn't happen!
+						break;
+					}
+				}
+				common_element_end('statuses');
+			}
 		
+			common_end_xml();
+		} elseif ($apidata['content-type'] == 'rss') {
+			common_server_error("API method under construction.", $code=501);
+		} elseif ($apidata['content-type'] == 'atom') {
+			common_server_error("API method under construction.", $code=501);	
+		} elseif ($apidata['content-type'] == 'json') {
+			common_server_error("API method under construction.", $code=501);
+		}
+
 		exit();
-	}
+	}	
 	
+
+		
 	/*
 	Returns the 20 most recent statuses posted by the authenticating user and that user's friends. 
 	This is the equivalent of /home on the Web. 
diff --git a/lib/twitterapi.php b/lib/twitterapi.php
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..b0aec67751
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/twitterapi.php
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+<?php
+/*
+ * Laconica - a distributed open-source microblogging tool
+ * Copyright (C) 2008, Controlez-Vous, Inc.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+ * it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as published by
+ * the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+ * (at your option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+ * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+ * GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+ * along with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+if (!defined('LACONICA')) { exit(1); }
+
+class TwitterapiAction extends Action {
+
+	function handle($args) {
+		parent::handle($args);
+	}
+	
+	/*
+	 * Spits out a Laconica notice as a Twitter-compatible "status"
+	 */
+	function show_xml_status($notice) {
+		global $config;
+		$profile = $notice->getProfile();
+		
+		common_element_start('status');
+		// XXX: twitter created_at date looks like this: Mon Jul 14 23:52:38 +0000 2008
+		common_element('created_at', NULL, common_exact_date($notice->created));
+		common_element('text', NULL, $notice->content);
+		common_element('source', NULL, 'Web');  # twitterific, twitterfox, etc.
+		common_element('truncated', NULL, 'false'); # how do we tell in Laconica?
+		common_element('in_reply_to_status_id', NULL, $notice->reply_to);
+		common_element('in_reply_to_user_id', NULL,'');
+		common_element('favorited', Null, '');  # feature for some day
+		
+		common_element_start('user');
+		common_element('id', NULL, $notice->id);
+		common_element('name', NULL, $profile->getBestName());
+		common_element('screen_name', NULL, $profile->nickname);
+		common_element('location', NULL, $profile->location);
+		common_element('description', NULL, $profile->bio);
+		
+		$avatar = $profile->getAvatar(AVATAR_STREAM_SIZE);
+		
+		common_element('profile_image_url', NULL, ($avatar) ? common_avatar_display_url($avatar) : common_default_avatar(AVATAR_STREAM_SIZE));
+		common_element('url', NULL, $profile->homepage);
+		common_element('protected', NULL, 'false'); # not supported yet
+		common_element('followers_count', NULL, $this->count_subscriptions($profile)); # where do I get this?
+		common_element_end('user');
+		
+		common_element_end('status');
+	}	
+
+	// XXX: Candidate for a general utility method somewhere?	
+	function count_subscriptions($profile) {
+		
+		$count = 0;
+		$sub = new Subscription();
+		$sub->subscribed = $profile->id;
+
+		if ($sub->find()) {
+			while ($sub->fetch()) {
+				if ($sub->token) {
+					$other = Remote_profile::staticGet('id', $sub->subscriber);
+				} else {
+					$other = User::staticGet('id', $sub->subscriber);
+				}
+				if (!$other) {
+					common_debug('Got a bad subscription: '.print_r($sub,TRUE));
+					continue;
+				}		
+				$count++;
+			}
+		}
+		return $count;
+	}
+	
+}
\ No newline at end of file