Plan 3: Published Column Fix

Investigate why the published column shows "Unpublished" for every item and fix the root cause.

Tasks

Task 1: Investigate published_at population

Files: lib/source_monitor/items/item_creator/entry_parser.rb, lib/source_monitor/items/item_creator.rb

1. Check extract_timestamp method -- it looks for published then updated on Feedjira entries
2. Trace how the parsed published_at value flows from EntryParser through ItemCreator to the database
3. Check if published_at is in the permitted/assigned attributes during item creation
4. Check if there's an attr_accessible or strong params filter that strips it
5. Look at the actual database data: run SourceMonitor::Item.where.not(published_at: nil).count vs SourceMonitor::Item.count

The entry_parser.rb correctly extracts timestamp (line 30: published_at = extract_timestamp), and includes it in the returned hash (line 47: published_at: published_at). So the parser side looks correct. The issue is likely in how ItemCreator uses this hash to create/update the Item record.

Task 2: Fix the root cause

Based on investigation:

• If published_at is being filtered out during item creation, add it to permitted attributes
• If Feedjira doesn't expose published for certain feed types, add the missing method mapping
• If the field is populated but nil for specific feed formats, add fallback extraction logic

Task 3: Add created_at fallback for display

Files: app/views/source_monitor/items/index.html.erb (line 94), app/views/source_monitor/items/_details.html.erb, app/views/source_monitor/sources/_details.html.erb

Regardless of parser fix, add a display fallback. If published_at is nil, show created_at with a subtle visual indicator:

<% if item.published_at %>
  <%= item.published_at.strftime("%b %d, %Y %H:%M") %>
<% else %>
  <span class="text-slate-400"><%= item.created_at.strftime("%b %d, %Y %H:%M") %></span>
<% end %>

Update all three views that display published_at.

Task 4: Add tests

• Test that items created from feeds with pubDate have published_at set
• Test display fallback when published_at is nil
• Verify existing item tests still pass

Acceptance Criteria

• Root cause of nil published_at identified and documented
• Items from feeds with published dates have published_at populated
• Items without published dates show created_at with visual distinction
• All views showing published_at use the fallback pattern
• All existing tests pass plus new tests
• RuboCop zero offenses