diff --git a/include/api.php b/include/api.php
index af71e2f1cf..d66446cb68 100644
--- a/include/api.php
+++ b/include/api.php
@@ -1626,7 +1626,7 @@ function api_search($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	$data['status'] = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info);
 
@@ -1693,7 +1693,7 @@ function api_statuses_home_timeline($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	$items = dba::inArray($statuses);
 
@@ -1770,7 +1770,7 @@ function api_statuses_public_timeline($type)
 		}
 
 		$params = ['order' => ['iid' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-		$statuses = Item::selectThread(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$statuses = Item::selectThreadForUser(api_user(), Item::DISPLAY_FIELDLIST, $condition, $params);
 
 		$r = dba::inArray($statuses);
 	} else {
@@ -1787,7 +1787,7 @@ function api_statuses_public_timeline($type)
 		}
 
 		$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-		$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 		$r = dba::inArray($statuses);
 	}
@@ -1846,7 +1846,7 @@ function api_statuses_networkpublic_timeline($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['iid' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::selectThread(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectThreadForUser(api_user(), Item::DISPLAY_FIELDLIST, $condition, $params);
 
 	$ret = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, false, $type);
 
@@ -1917,7 +1917,7 @@ function api_statuses_show($type)
 		$params = [];
 	}
 
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	/// @TODO How about copying this to above methods which don't check $r ?
 	if (!DBM::is_result($statuses)) {
@@ -1998,7 +1998,7 @@ function api_conversation_show($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	if (!DBM::is_result($statuses)) {
 		throw new BadRequestException("There is no status with id $id.");
@@ -2048,7 +2048,7 @@ function api_statuses_repeat($type)
 	logger('API: api_statuses_repeat: '.$id);
 
 	$fields = ['body', 'author-name', 'author-link', 'author-avatar', 'guid', 'created', 'plink'];
-	$item = Item::selectFirst(api_user(), $fields, ['id' => $id, 'private' => false]);
+	$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, ['id' => $id, 'private' => false]);
 
 	if (DBM::is_result($item) && $item['body'] != "") {
 		if (strpos($item['body'], "[/share]") !== false) {
@@ -2168,7 +2168,7 @@ function api_statuses_mentions($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	$ret = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, false, $type);
 
@@ -2248,7 +2248,7 @@ function api_statuses_user_timeline($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	$ret = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, true, $type);
 
@@ -2300,7 +2300,7 @@ function api_favorites_create_destroy($type)
 		$itemid = intval($_REQUEST['id']);
 	}
 
-	$item = Item::selectFirst(api_user(), [], ['id' => $itemid, 'uid' => api_user()]);
+	$item = Item::selectFirstForUser(api_user(), [], ['id' => $itemid, 'uid' => api_user()]);
 
 	if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 		throw new BadRequestException("Invalid item.");
@@ -2390,7 +2390,7 @@ function api_favorites($type)
 			$condition[] = $max_id;
 		}
 
-		$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 		$ret = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, false, $type);
 	}
@@ -3198,7 +3198,7 @@ function api_lists_statuses($type)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $count]];
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	$items = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, false, $type);
 
@@ -4723,7 +4723,7 @@ function prepare_photo_data($type, $scale, $photo_id)
 	$condition = ["`parent` = ? AND `uid` = ? AND (`verb` = ? OR `type`='photo')",
 		$item[0]['parent'], api_user(), ACTIVITY_POST];
 
-	$statuses = Item::select(api_user(), [], $condition);
+	$statuses = Item::selectForUser(api_user(), [], $condition);
 
 	// prepare output of comments
 	$commentData = api_format_items(dba::inArray($statuses), $user_info, false, $type);
@@ -5716,7 +5716,7 @@ function api_friendica_notification_seen($type)
 	$nm->setSeen($note);
 	if ($note['otype']=='item') {
 		// would be really better with an ItemsManager and $im->getByID() :-P
-		$item = Item::selectFirst(api_user(), [], ['id' => $note['iid'], 'uid' => api_user()]);
+		$item = Item::selectFirstForUser(api_user(), [], ['id' => $note['iid'], 'uid' => api_user()]);
 		if (DBM::is_result($$item)) {
 			// we found the item, return it to the user
 			$ret = api_format_items([$item], $user_info, false, $type);
diff --git a/include/conversation.php b/include/conversation.php
index fd4814a361..97be7e9aa9 100644
--- a/include/conversation.php
+++ b/include/conversation.php
@@ -788,7 +788,7 @@ function conversation_add_children($parents, $block_authors, $order, $uid) {
 		if ($block_authors) {
 			$condition[0] .= "AND NOT `author`.`hidden`";
 		}
-		$thread_items = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$thread_items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 		$comments = dba::inArray($thread_items);
 
diff --git a/include/enotify.php b/include/enotify.php
index b1cf044b58..00459ac5c0 100644
--- a/include/enotify.php
+++ b/include/enotify.php
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ function notification($params)
 		$item = null;
 
 		if ($params['otype'] === 'item' && $parent_id) {
-			$item = Item::selectFirst($params['uid'], [], ['id' => $parent_id]);
+			$item = Item::selectFirstForUser($params['uid'], [], ['id' => $parent_id]);
 		}
 
 		$item_post_type = item_post_type($item);
@@ -724,23 +724,24 @@ function check_item_notification($itemid, $uid, $defaulttype = "") {
 
 	$profiles = $profiles2;
 
-	$profile_list = "";
+	$ret = dba::select('contact', ['id'], ['uid' => 0, 'nurl' => $profiles]);
 
-	foreach ($profiles AS $profile) {
-		if ($profile_list != "")
-			$profile_list .= "', '";
+	$contacts = [];
 
-		$profile_list .= dbesc($profile);
+	while ($contact = dba::fetch($ret)) {
+		$contacts[] = $contact['id'];
 	}
 
-	$profile_list = "'".$profile_list."'";
+	$contact_list = implode(',', $contacts);
+
+	dba::close($ret);
 
 	// Only act if it is a "real" post
 	// We need the additional check for the "local_profile" because of mixed situations on connector networks
 	$item = q("SELECT `id`, `mention`, `tag`,`parent`, `title`, `body`, `author-id`, `guid`,
 			`parent-uri`, `uri`, `contact-id`, `network`
 			FROM `item` WHERE `id` = %d AND `verb` IN ('%s', '') AND `type` != 'activity' AND
-				NOT (`author-link` IN ($profile_list))  LIMIT 1",
+				NOT (`author-id` IN ($contact_list)) LIMIT 1",
 		intval($itemid), dbesc(ACTIVITY_POST));
 	if (!$item)
 		return false;
@@ -807,7 +808,7 @@ function check_item_notification($itemid, $uid, $defaulttype = "") {
 	// Is it a post that the user had started or where he interacted?
 	$parent = q("SELECT `thread`.`iid` FROM `thread` INNER JOIN `item` ON `item`.`parent` = `thread`.`iid`
 			WHERE `thread`.`iid` = %d AND NOT `thread`.`ignored` AND
-				(`thread`.`mention` OR `item`.`author-link` IN ($profile_list))
+				(`thread`.`mention` OR `item`.`author-id` IN ($contact_list))
 			LIMIT 1",
 			intval($item[0]["parent"]));
 
diff --git a/mod/acl.php b/mod/acl.php
index 7f17156896..ede6940329 100644
--- a/mod/acl.php
+++ b/mod/acl.php
@@ -258,7 +258,7 @@ function acl_content(App $a)
 
 		$condition = ["`parent` = ?", $conv_id];
 		$params = ['order' => ['author-name' => true]];
-		$authors = Item::select(local_user(), ['author-link'], $condition, $params);
+		$authors = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), ['author-link'], $condition, $params);
 		$item_authors = [];
 		while ($author = dba::fetch($authors)) {
 			$item_authors[$author['author-link']] = $author['author-link'];
diff --git a/mod/display.php b/mod/display.php
index 816af820a1..7198d4bb5f 100644
--- a/mod/display.php
+++ b/mod/display.php
@@ -349,7 +349,7 @@ function display_content(App $a, $update = false, $update_uid = 0) {
 	$condition = ["`item`.`parent-uri` = (SELECT `parent-uri` FROM `item` WHERE `id` = ?)
 		AND `item`.`uid` IN (0, ?) " . $sql_extra, $item_id, local_user()];
 	$params = ['order' => ['uid', 'parent' => true, 'gravity', 'id']];
-	$r = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$r = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 	if (!DBM::is_result($r)) {
 		notice(L10n::t('Item not found.') . EOL);
diff --git a/mod/network.php b/mod/network.php
index 995b1da55b..61d957e1ad 100644
--- a/mod/network.php
+++ b/mod/network.php
@@ -455,7 +455,7 @@ function networkFlatView(App $a, $update = 0)
 	}
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['id' => true], 'limit' => [$a->pager['start'], $a->pager['itemspage']]];
-	$result = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+	$result = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 	$items = dba::inArray($result);
 
 	$condition = ['unseen' => true, 'uid' => local_user()];
diff --git a/mod/notes.php b/mod/notes.php
index fb42408c60..69b544472f 100644
--- a/mod/notes.php
+++ b/mod/notes.php
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ function notes_content(App $a, $update = false)
 
 	$params = ['order' => ['created' => true],
 		'limit' => [$a->pager['start'], $a->pager['itemspage']]];
-	$r = Item::select(local_user(), ['item_id'], $condition, $params);
+	$r = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), ['item_id'], $condition, $params);
 
 	if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
 		$parents_arr = [];
@@ -79,7 +79,7 @@ function notes_content(App $a, $update = false)
 		dba::close($r);
 
 		$condition = ['uid' => local_user(), 'parent' => $parents_arr];
-		$result = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition);
+		$result = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition);
 		if (DBM::is_result($result)) {
 			$items = conv_sort(dba::inArray($result), 'commented');
 			$o .= conversation($a, $items, 'notes', $update);
diff --git a/mod/ping.php b/mod/ping.php
index 0256500dfe..06d83a1d9a 100644
--- a/mod/ping.php
+++ b/mod/ping.php
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ function ping_init(App $a)
 		$fields = ['id', 'parent', 'verb', 'author-name', 'unseen', 'author-link', 'author-avatar', 'contact-avatar',
 			'network', 'created', 'object', 'parent-author-name', 'parent-author-link', 'parent-guid'];
 		$params = ['order' => ['created' => true]];
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($items)) {
 			$items_unseen = dba::inArray($items);
diff --git a/mod/poke.php b/mod/poke.php
index 470f1eb2d6..55bb799d1f 100644
--- a/mod/poke.php
+++ b/mod/poke.php
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ function poke_init(App $a) {
 	if ($parent) {
 		$fields = ['uri', 'private', 'allow_cid', 'allow_gid', 'deny_cid', 'deny_gid'];
 		$condition = ['id' => $parent, 'parent' => $parent, 'uid' => $uid];
-		$item = Item::selectFirst(local_user(), $fields, $condition);
+		$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, $condition);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			$parent_uri = $item['uri'];
diff --git a/mod/profile.php b/mod/profile.php
index 91d04b2de9..49d6fe261d 100644
--- a/mod/profile.php
+++ b/mod/profile.php
@@ -338,7 +338,7 @@ function profile_content(App $a, $update = 0)
 		}
 
 		$condition = ['uid' => $a->profile['profile_uid'], 'parent' => $parents_arr];
-		$result = Item::select($a->profile['profile_uid'], [], $condition);
+		$result = Item::selectForUser($a->profile['profile_uid'], [], $condition);
 		$items = conv_sort(dba::inArray($result), 'created');
 	} else {
 		$items = [];
diff --git a/mod/search.php b/mod/search.php
index c42bcacfa0..6580246e4a 100644
--- a/mod/search.php
+++ b/mod/search.php
@@ -211,7 +211,7 @@ function search_content(App $a) {
 		}
 		dba::close($terms);
 
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), [], ['id' => array_reverse($itemids)]);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], ['id' => array_reverse($itemids)]);
 		$r = dba::inArray($items);
 	} else {
 		logger("Start fulltext search for '".$search."'", LOGGER_DEBUG);
@@ -221,7 +221,7 @@ function search_content(App $a) {
 			local_user(), $search];
 		$params = ['order' => ['id' => true],
 			'limit' => [$a->pager['start'], $a->pager['itemspage']]];
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 		$r = dba::inArray($items);
 	}
 
diff --git a/mod/share.php b/mod/share.php
index 8a40288853..fb4495019e 100644
--- a/mod/share.php
+++ b/mod/share.php
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ function share_init(App $a) {
 
 	$fields = ['private', 'body', 'author-name', 'author-link', 'author-avatar',
 		'guid', 'created', 'plink', 'title'];
-	$item = Item::selectFirst(local_user(), $fields, ['id' => $post_id]);
+	$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, ['id' => $post_id]);
 
 	if (!DBM::is_result($item) || $item['private'] == 1) {
 		killme();
diff --git a/mod/subthread.php b/mod/subthread.php
index e2c11d0a3f..0b6f4ecaaa 100644
--- a/mod/subthread.php
+++ b/mod/subthread.php
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ function subthread_content(App $a) {
 	$item_id = (($a->argc > 1) ? notags(trim($a->argv[1])) : 0);
 
 	$condition = ["`parent` = ? OR `parent-uri` = ? AND `parent` = `id`", $item_id, $item_id];
-	$item = Item::selectFirst(local_user(), [], $condition);
+	$item = Item::selectFirst([], $condition);
 
 	if (empty($item_id) || !DBM::is_result($item)) {
 		logger('subthread: no item ' . $item_id);
diff --git a/mod/tagger.php b/mod/tagger.php
index e72061b592..400c7787f6 100644
--- a/mod/tagger.php
+++ b/mod/tagger.php
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ function tagger_content(App $a) {
 	logger('tagger: tag ' . $term . ' item ' . $item_id);
 
 
-	$item = Item::selectFirst(local_user(), [], ['id' => $item_id]);
+	$item = Item::selectFirst([], ['id' => $item_id]);
 
 	if (!$item_id || !DBM::is_result($item)) {
 		logger('tagger: no item ' . $item_id);
diff --git a/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php b/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
index 609eafc438..8020a281b0 100644
--- a/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
+++ b/src/Core/NotificationsManager.php
@@ -407,7 +407,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 		$fields = ['id', 'parent', 'verb', 'author-name', 'unseen', 'author-link', 'author-avatar', 'contact-avatar',
 			'network', 'created', 'object', 'parent-author-name', 'parent-author-link', 'parent-guid'];
 		$params = ['order' => ['created' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $limit]];
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($items)) {
 			$notifs = $this->formatNotifs(dba::inArray($items), $ident);
@@ -492,7 +492,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 		$fields = ['id', 'parent', 'verb', 'author-name', 'unseen', 'author-link', 'author-avatar', 'contact-avatar',
 			'network', 'created', 'object', 'parent-author-name', 'parent-author-link', 'parent-guid'];
 		$params = ['order' => ['created' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $limit]];
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($items)) {
 			$notifs = $this->formatNotifs(dba::inArray($items), $ident);
@@ -532,7 +532,7 @@ class NotificationsManager extends BaseObject
 		$fields = ['id', 'parent', 'verb', 'author-name', 'unseen', 'author-link', 'author-avatar', 'contact-avatar',
 			'network', 'created', 'object', 'parent-author-name', 'parent-author-link', 'parent-guid'];
 		$params = ['order' => ['created' => true], 'limit' => [$start, $limit]];
-		$items = Item::select(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
+		$items = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), $fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($items)) {
 			$notifs = $this->formatNotifs(dba::inArray($items), $ident);
diff --git a/src/Model/Contact.php b/src/Model/Contact.php
index f354f89c7d..6a24b7da9f 100644
--- a/src/Model/Contact.php
+++ b/src/Model/Contact.php
@@ -1068,10 +1068,10 @@ class Contact extends BaseObject
 			$author_id, ACTIVITY_POST, local_user()];
 		$params = ['order' => ['created' => true],
 			'limit' => [$a->pager['start'], $a->pager['itemspage']]];
-		$r = Item::select(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
+		$r = Item::selectForUser(local_user(), [], $condition, $params);
 
 		$items = dba::inArray($r);
-		
+
 		$o = conversation($a, $items, 'contact-posts', false);
 
 		$o .= alt_pager($a, count($items));
diff --git a/src/Model/Item.php b/src/Model/Item.php
index a30ed37394..dcf944cc46 100644
--- a/src/Model/Item.php
+++ b/src/Model/Item.php
@@ -33,8 +33,31 @@ require_once 'include/text.php';
 
 class Item extends BaseObject
 {
+	// Field list that is used to display the items
+	const DISPLAY_FIELDLIST = ['uid', 'id', 'parent', 'uri', 'thr-parent', 'parent-uri', 'guid',
+			'commented', 'created', 'edited', 'received', 'verb', 'object-type', 'postopts', 'plink',
+			'wall', 'private', 'starred', 'origin', 'title', 'body', 'file', 'attach',
+			'content-warning', 'location', 'coord', 'app', 'rendered-hash', 'rendered-html', 'object',
+			'allow_cid', 'allow_gid', 'deny_cid', 'deny_gid', 'item_id', 'item_network',
+			'author-id', 'author-link', 'author-name', 'author-avatar',
+			'owner-id', 'owner-link', 'owner-name', 'owner-avatar',
+			'contact-id', 'contact-link', 'contact-name', 'contact-avatar',
+			'network', 'url', 'name', 'writable', 'self', 'cid', 'alias',
+			'event-id', 'event-created', 'event-edited', 'event-start', 'event-finish',
+			'event-summary', 'event-desc', 'event-location', 'event-type',
+			'event-nofinish', 'event-adjust', 'event-ignore', 'event-id'];
+
+	// Field list that is used to deliver items via the protocols
+	const DELIVER_FIELDLIST = ['uid', 'id', 'parent', 'uri', 'thr-parent', 'parent-uri', 'guid',
+			'created', 'edited', 'verb', 'object-type', 'object', 'target',
+			'private', 'title', 'body', 'location', 'coord', 'app',
+			'attach', 'tag', 'bookmark', 'deleted', 'extid',
+			'allow_cid', 'allow_gid', 'deny_cid', 'deny_gid',
+			'author-id', 'author-link', 'owner-link', 'contact-uid',
+			'signed_text', 'signature', 'signer'];
+
 	/**
-	 * Retrieve a single record from the item table and returns it in an associative array
+	 * Retrieve a single record from the item table for a given user and returns it in an associative array
 	 *
 	 * @brief Retrieve a single record from a table
 	 * @param integer $uid User ID
@@ -44,10 +67,53 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 	 * @return bool|array
 	 * @see dba::select
 	 */
-	public static function selectFirst($uid, array $fields = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	public static function selectFirstForUser($uid, array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	{
+		$params['uid'] = $uid;
+
+		if (empty($selected)) {
+			$selected = Item::DISPLAY_FIELDLIST;
+		}
+
+		return self::selectFirst($selected, $condition, $params);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @brief Select rows from the item table for a given user
+	 *
+	 * @param integer $uid User ID
+	 * @param array  $selected  Array of selected fields, empty for all
+	 * @param array  $condition Array of fields for condition
+	 * @param array  $params    Array of several parameters
+	 *
+	 * @return boolean|object
+	 */
+	public static function selectForUser($uid, array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	{
+		$params['uid'] = $uid;
+
+		if (empty($selected)) {
+			$selected = Item::DISPLAY_FIELDLIST;
+		}
+
+		return self::select($selected, $condition, $params);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * Retrieve a single record from the item table and returns it in an associative array
+	 *
+	 * @brief Retrieve a single record from a table
+	 * @param array  $fields
+	 * @param array  $condition
+	 * @param array  $params
+	 * @return bool|array
+	 * @see dba::select
+	 */
+	public static function selectFirst(array $fields = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
 	{
 		$params['limit'] = 1;
-		$result = self::select($uid, $fields, $condition, $params);
+
+		$result = self::select($fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (is_bool($result)) {
 			return $result;
@@ -61,15 +127,22 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 	/**
 	 * @brief Select rows from the item table
 	 *
-	 * @param integer $uid User ID
-	 * @param array  $fields    Array of selected fields, empty for all
+	 * @param array  $selected  Array of selected fields, empty for all
 	 * @param array  $condition Array of fields for condition
 	 * @param array  $params    Array of several parameters
 	 *
 	 * @return boolean|object
 	 */
-	public static function select($uid, array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	public static function select(array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
 	{
+		$uid = 0;
+		$usermode = false;
+
+		if (isset($params['uid'])) {
+			$uid = $params['uid'];
+			$usermode = true;
+		}
+
 		$fields = self::fieldlist($selected);
 
 		$select_fields = self::constructSelectFields($fields, $selected);
@@ -78,7 +151,9 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 
 		$condition_string = self::addTablesToFields($condition_string, $fields);
 
-		$condition_string = $condition_string . ' AND ' . self::condition(false);
+		if ($usermode) {
+			$condition_string = $condition_string . ' AND ' . self::condition(false);
+		}
 
 		$param_string = self::addTablesToFields(dba::buildParameter($params), $fields);
 
@@ -100,10 +175,10 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 	 * @return bool|array
 	 * @see dba::select
 	 */
-	public static function selectFirstThread($uid, array $fields = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	public static function selectFirstThreadForUser($uid, array $fields = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
 	{
 		$params['limit'] = 1;
-		$result = self::selectThread($uid, $fields, $condition, $params);
+		$result = self::selectThreadForUser($uid, $fields, $condition, $params);
 
 		if (is_bool($result)) {
 			return $result;
@@ -124,8 +199,12 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 	 *
 	 * @return boolean|object
 	 */
-	public static function selectThread($uid, array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
+	public static function selectThreadForUser($uid, array $selected = [], array $condition = [], $params = [])
 	{
+		if (empty($selected)) {
+			$selected = Item::DISPLAY_FIELDLIST;
+		}
+
 		$fields = self::fieldlist($selected);
 
 		$threadfields = ['thread' => ['iid', 'uid', 'contact-id', 'owner-id', 'author-id',
@@ -160,40 +239,39 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 	 */
 	private static function fieldlist($selected)
 	{
-		/*
-		These Fields are not added below. They are here to for bug search.
-		'type', 'extid', 'changed', 'moderated', 'target-type', 'target', 'resource-id',
-		'tag', 'inform', 'pubmail', 'visible', 'bookmark', 'unseen', 'deleted',
-		'forum_mode', 'mention', 'global', 'shadow',
-		*/
+		$fields = [];
 
-		$item_fields = ['author-id', 'owner-id', 'contact-id', 'uid', 'id', 'parent',
-			'uri', 'thr-parent', 'parent-uri', 'content-warning',
-			'commented', 'created', 'edited', 'received', 'verb', 'object-type', 'postopts', 'plink',
-			'guid', 'wall', 'private', 'starred', 'origin', 'title', 'body', 'file', 'event-id',
-			'location', 'coord', 'app', 'attach', 'rendered-hash', 'rendered-html', 'object',
-			'allow_cid', 'allow_gid', 'deny_cid', 'deny_gid', 'unseen',
+		$fields['item'] = ['id', 'uid', 'parent', 'uri', 'parent-uri', 'thr-parent', 'guid',
+			'contact-id', 'owner-id', 'author-id', 'type', 'wall', 'gravity', 'extid',
+			'created', 'edited', 'commented', 'received', 'changed',
+			'title', 'body', 'app', 'verb', 'object-type', 'object', 'target-type', 'target',
+			'postopts', 'plink', 'resource-id', 'event-id', 'tag', 'attach', 'inform',
+			'file', 'location', 'coord', 'allow_cid', 'allow_gid', 'deny_cid', 'deny_gid',
+			'private', 'pubmail', 'moderated', 'visible', 'starred', 'bookmark',
+			'unseen', 'deleted', 'origin', 'forum_mode', 'mention',
+			'rendered-hash', 'rendered-html', 'global', 'shadow', 'content-warning',
 			'id' => 'item_id', 'network' => 'item_network'];
 
-		$author_fields = ['url' => 'author-link', 'name' => 'author-name', 'thumb' => 'author-avatar'];
-		$owner_fields = ['url' => 'owner-link', 'name' => 'owner-name', 'thumb' => 'owner-avatar'];
-		$contact_fields = ['url' => 'contact-link', 'name' => 'contact-name', 'thumb' => 'contact-avatar',
-			'network', 'url', 'name', 'writable', 'self', 'id' => 'cid', 'alias'];
+		$fields['author'] = ['url' => 'author-link', 'name' => 'author-name', 'thumb' => 'author-avatar'];
 
-		$event_fields = ['created' => 'event-created', 'edited' => 'event-edited',
+		$fields['owner'] = ['url' => 'owner-link', 'name' => 'owner-name', 'thumb' => 'owner-avatar'];
+
+		$fields['contact'] = ['url' => 'contact-link', 'name' => 'contact-name', 'thumb' => 'contact-avatar',
+			'network', 'url', 'name', 'writable', 'self', 'id' => 'cid', 'alias', 'uid' => 'contact-uid',
+			'photo', 'name-date', 'uri-date', 'avatar-date', 'thumb', 'dfrn-id'];
+
+		$fields['parent-item'] = ['guid' => 'parent-guid'];
+
+		$fields['parent-item-author'] = ['url' => 'parent-author-link', 'name' => 'parent-author-name'];
+
+		$fields['event'] = ['created' => 'event-created', 'edited' => 'event-edited',
 			'start' => 'event-start','finish' => 'event-finish',
 			'summary' => 'event-summary','desc' => 'event-desc',
 			'location' => 'event-location', 'type' => 'event-type',
 			'nofinish' => 'event-nofinish','adjust' => 'event-adjust',
 			'ignore' => 'event-ignore', 'id' => 'event-id'];
 
-		$fields = ['item' => $item_fields, 'author' => $author_fields, 'owner' => $owner_fields,
-			'contact' => $contact_fields, 'event' => $event_fields];
-
-		if (!empty($selected)) {
-			$fields['parent-item'] = ['guid' => 'parent-guid'];
-			$fields['parent-item-author'] = ['url' => 'parent-author-link', 'name' => 'parent-author-name'];
-		}
+		$fields['sign'] = ['signed_text', 'signature', 'signer'];
 
 		return $fields;
 	}
@@ -257,6 +335,10 @@ class Item extends BaseObject
 			$joins .= " LEFT JOIN `event` ON `event-id` = `event`.`id`";
 		}
 
+		if (strpos($sql_commands, "`sign`.") !== false) {
+			$joins .= " LEFT JOIN `sign` ON `sign`.`iid` = `item`.`id`";
+		}
+
 		if ((strpos($sql_commands, "`parent-item`.") !== false) || (strpos($sql_commands, "`parent-author`.") !== false)) {
 			$joins .= " STRAIGHT_JOIN `item` AS `parent-item` ON `parent-item`.`id` = `item`.`parent`";
 		}
diff --git a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
index 6b9ff3de50..9a24c75e46 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/DFRN.php
@@ -228,17 +228,10 @@ class DFRN
 		$check_date = DateTimeFormat::utc($last_update);
 
 		$r = q(
-			"SELECT `item`.*, `item`.`id` AS `item_id`,
-			`contact`.`name`, `contact`.`network`, `contact`.`photo`, `contact`.`url`,
-			`contact`.`name-date`, `contact`.`uri-date`, `contact`.`avatar-date`,
-			`contact`.`thumb`, `contact`.`dfrn-id`, `contact`.`self`,
-			`sign`.`signed_text`, `sign`.`signature`, `sign`.`signer`
+			"SELECT `item`.`id`
 			FROM `item` USE INDEX (`uid_wall_changed`) $sql_post_table
 			STRAIGHT_JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
-			AND (NOT `contact`.`blocked` OR `contact`.`pending`)
-			LEFT JOIN `sign` ON `sign`.`iid` = `item`.`id`
-			WHERE `item`.`uid` = %d AND `item`.`visible` AND NOT `item`.`moderated` AND `item`.`parent` != 0
-			AND `item`.`wall` AND `item`.`changed` > '%s'
+			WHERE `item`.`uid` = %d AND `item`.`wall` AND `item`.`changed` > '%s'
 			$sql_extra
 			ORDER BY `item`.`parent` ".$sort.", `item`.`created` ASC LIMIT 0, 300",
 			intval($owner_id),
@@ -246,13 +239,23 @@ class DFRN
 			dbesc($sort)
 		);
 
+		$ids = [];
+		foreach ($r as $item) {
+			$ids[] = $item['id'];
+		}
+
+		if (!empty($ids)) {
+			$ret = Item::select(Item::DELIVER_FIELDLIST, ['id' => $ids]);
+			$items = dba::inArray($ret);
+		} else {
+			$items = [];
+		}
+
 		/*
 		 * Will check further below if this actually returned results.
 		 * We will provide an empty feed if that is the case.
 		 */
 
-		$items = $r;
-
 		$doc = new DOMDocument('1.0', 'utf-8');
 		$doc->formatOutput = true;
 
@@ -321,33 +324,18 @@ class DFRN
 	public static function itemFeed($item_id, $conversation = false)
 	{
 		if ($conversation) {
-			$condition = '`item`.`parent`';
+			$condition = ['parent' => $item_id];
 		} else {
-			$condition = '`item`.`id`';
+			$condition = ['id' => $item_id];
 		}
 
-		$r = q(
-			"SELECT `item`.*, `item`.`id` AS `item_id`,
-			`contact`.`name`, `contact`.`network`, `contact`.`photo`, `contact`.`url`,
-			`contact`.`name-date`, `contact`.`uri-date`, `contact`.`avatar-date`,
-			`contact`.`thumb`, `contact`.`dfrn-id`, `contact`.`self`,
-			`sign`.`signed_text`, `sign`.`signature`, `sign`.`signer`
-			FROM `item`
-			STRAIGHT_JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
-				AND (NOT `contact`.`blocked` OR `contact`.`pending`)
-			LEFT JOIN `sign` ON `sign`.`iid` = `item`.`id`
-			WHERE %s = %d AND `item`.`visible` AND NOT `item`.`moderated` AND `item`.`parent` != 0
-			AND NOT `item`.`private`",
-			$condition,
-			intval($item_id)
-		);
-
-		if (!DBM::is_result($r)) {
+		$ret = Item::select(Item::DELIVER_FIELDLIST, $condition);
+		$items = dba::inArray($ret);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($items)) {
 			killme();
 		}
 
-		$items = $r;
-		$item = $r[0];
+		$item = $items[0];
 
 		if ($item['uid'] != 0) {
 			$owner = User::getOwnerDataById($item['uid']);
@@ -2253,6 +2241,8 @@ class DFRN
 			}
 
 			if ($Blink && link_compare($Blink, System::baseUrl() . "/profile/" . $importer["nickname"])) {
+				$author = dba::selectFirst('contact', ['name', 'thumb', 'url'], ['id' => $item['author-id']]);
+
 				// send a notification
 				notification(
 					[
@@ -2264,10 +2254,9 @@ class DFRN
 					"uid"          => $importer["importer_uid"],
 					"item"         => $item,
 					"link"         => System::baseUrl()."/display/".urlencode(Item::getGuidById($posted_id)),
-					"source_name"  => stripslashes($item["author-name"]),
-					"source_link"  => $item["author-link"],
-					"source_photo" => ((link_compare($item["author-link"], $importer["url"]))
-						? $importer["thumb"] : $item["author-avatar"]),
+					"source_name"  => $author["name"],
+					"source_link"  => $author["url"],
+					"source_photo" => $author["thumb"],
 					"verb"         => $item["verb"],
 					"otype"        => "person",
 					"activity"     => $verb,
@@ -2334,9 +2323,9 @@ class DFRN
 				// only one like or dislike per person
 				// splitted into two queries for performance issues
 				$r = q(
-					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-link` = '%s' AND `verb` = '%s' AND `parent-uri` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
+					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-id` = %d AND `verb` = '%s' AND `parent-uri` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
 					intval($item["uid"]),
-					dbesc($item["author-link"]),
+					intval($item["author-id"]),
 					dbesc($item["verb"]),
 					dbesc($item["parent-uri"])
 				);
@@ -2345,9 +2334,9 @@ class DFRN
 				}
 
 				$r = q(
-					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-link` = '%s' AND `verb` = '%s' AND `thr-parent` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
+					"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `author-id` = %d AND `verb` = '%s' AND `thr-parent` = '%s' AND NOT `deleted` LIMIT 1",
 					intval($item["uid"]),
-					dbesc($item["author-link"]),
+					intval($item["author-id"]),
 					dbesc($item["verb"]),
 					dbesc($item["parent-uri"])
 				);
@@ -2469,16 +2458,14 @@ class DFRN
 		// Fetch the owner
 		$owner = self::fetchauthor($xpath, $entry, $importer, "dfrn:owner", true);
 
-		$item["owner-name"] = $owner["name"];
 		$item["owner-link"] = $owner["link"];
-		$item["owner-avatar"] = $owner["avatar"];
+		$item["owner-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($owner["link"], 0);
 
 		// fetch the author
 		$author = self::fetchauthor($xpath, $entry, $importer, "atom:author", true);
 
-		$item["author-name"] = $author["name"];
 		$item["author-link"] = $author["link"];
-		$item["author-avatar"] = $author["avatar"];
+		$item["author-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($author["link"], 0);
 
 		$item["title"] = $xpath->query("atom:title/text()", $entry)->item(0)->nodeValue;
 
@@ -2736,9 +2723,8 @@ class DFRN
 				 * but we're going to unconditionally correct it here so that the post will always be owned by our contact.
 				 */
 				logger('Correcting item owner.', LOGGER_DEBUG);
-				$item["owner-name"]   = $importer["senderName"];
-				$item["owner-link"]   = $importer["url"];
-				$item["owner-avatar"] = $importer["thumb"];
+				$item["owner-link"] = $importer["url"];
+				$item["owner-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($importer["url"], 0);
 			}
 
 			if (($importer["rel"] == CONTACT_IS_FOLLOWER) && (!self::tgroupCheck($importer["importer_uid"], $item))) {
diff --git a/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php b/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
index 20d1d74fea..c42e8c2484 100644
--- a/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
+++ b/src/Protocol/Diaspora.php
@@ -69,7 +69,7 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		if (Config::get("system", "relay_directly", false)) {
 			// We distribute our stuff based on the parent to ensure that the thread will be complete
-			$parent = dba::selectFirst('item', ['parent'], ['id' => $item_id]);
+			$parent = Item::selectFirst(['parent'], ['id' => $item_id]);
 			if (!DBM::is_result($parent)) {
 				return;
 			}
@@ -1170,15 +1170,10 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function messageExists($uid, $guid)
 	{
-		$r = q(
-			"SELECT `id` FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `guid` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-			intval($uid),
-			dbesc($guid)
-		);
-
-		if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
+		$item = Item::selectFirst(['id'], ['uid' => $uid, 'guid' => $guid]);
+		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			logger("message ".$guid." already exists for user ".$uid);
-			return $r[0]["id"];
+			return $item["id"];
 		}
 
 		return false;
@@ -1385,16 +1380,13 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function parentItem($uid, $guid, $author, $contact)
 	{
-		$r = q(
-			"SELECT `id`, `parent`, `body`, `wall`, `uri`, `guid`, `private`, `origin`,
-				`author-name`, `author-link`, `author-avatar`,
-				`owner-name`, `owner-link`, `owner-avatar`
-			FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `guid` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-			intval($uid),
-			dbesc($guid)
-		);
+		$fields = ['id', 'parent', 'body', 'wall', 'uri', 'guid', 'private', 'origin',
+			'author-name', 'author-link', 'author-avatar',
+			'owner-name', 'owner-link', 'owner-avatar'];
+		$condition = ['uid' => $uid, 'guid' => $guid];
+		$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, $condition);
 
-		if (!$r) {
+		if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			$result = self::storeByGuid($guid, $contact["url"], $uid);
 
 			if (!$result) {
@@ -1405,23 +1397,16 @@ class Diaspora
 			if ($result) {
 				logger("Fetched missing item ".$guid." - result: ".$result, LOGGER_DEBUG);
 
-				$r = q(
-					"SELECT `id`, `body`, `wall`, `uri`, `private`, `origin`,
-						`author-name`, `author-link`, `author-avatar`,
-						`owner-name`, `owner-link`, `owner-avatar`
-					FROM `item` WHERE `uid` = %d AND `guid` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-					intval($uid),
-					dbesc($guid)
-				);
+				$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, $condition);
 			}
 		}
 
-		if (!$r) {
+		if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			logger("parent item not found: parent: ".$guid." - user: ".$uid);
 			return false;
 		} else {
 			logger("parent item found: parent: ".$guid." - user: ".$uid);
-			return $r[0];
+			return $item;
 		}
 	}
 
@@ -1602,7 +1587,7 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function getUriFromGuid($author, $guid, $onlyfound = false)
 	{
-		$item = dba::selectFirst('item', ['uri'], ['guid' => $guid]);
+		$item = Item::selectFirst(['uri'], ['guid' => $guid]);
 		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			return $item["uri"];
 		} elseif (!$onlyfound) {
@@ -1632,9 +1617,9 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function getGuidFromUri($uri, $uid)
 	{
-		$r = q("SELECT `guid` FROM `item` WHERE `uri` = '%s' AND `uid` = %d LIMIT 1", dbesc($uri), intval($uid));
-		if (DBM::is_result($r)) {
-			return $r[0]["guid"];
+		$item = Item::selectFirst(['guid'], ['uri' => $uri, 'uid' => $uid]);
+		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
+			return $item["guid"];
 		} else {
 			return false;
 		}
@@ -1649,11 +1634,10 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function importerForGuid($guid)
 	{
-		$item = dba::fetch_first("SELECT `uid` FROM `item` WHERE `origin` AND `guid` = ? LIMIT 1", $guid);
-
+		$item = Item::selectFirst(['uid'], ['origin' => true, 'guid' => $guid]);
 		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			logger("Found user ".$item['uid']." as owner of item ".$guid, LOGGER_DEBUG);
-			$contact = dba::fetch_first("SELECT * FROM `contact` WHERE `self` AND `uid` = ?", $item['uid']);
+			$contact = dba::selectFirst('contact', [], ['self' => true, 'uid' => $item['uid']]);
 			if (DBM::is_result($contact)) {
 				return $contact;
 			}
@@ -1721,13 +1705,11 @@ class Diaspora
 		$datarray["contact-id"] = $author_contact["cid"];
 		$datarray["network"]  = $author_contact["network"];
 
-		$datarray["author-name"] = $person["name"];
 		$datarray["author-link"] = $person["url"];
-		$datarray["author-avatar"] = ((x($person, "thumb")) ? $person["thumb"] : $person["photo"]);
+		$datarray["author-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($person["url"], 0);
 
-		$datarray["owner-name"] = $contact["name"];
 		$datarray["owner-link"] = $contact["url"];
-		$datarray["owner-avatar"] = ((x($contact, "thumb")) ? $contact["thumb"] : $contact["photo"]);
+		$datarray["owner-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($contact["url"], 0);
 
 		$datarray["guid"] = $guid;
 		$datarray["uri"] = self::getUriFromGuid($author, $guid);
@@ -2056,13 +2038,11 @@ class Diaspora
 		$datarray["contact-id"] = $author_contact["cid"];
 		$datarray["network"]  = $author_contact["network"];
 
-		$datarray["author-name"] = $person["name"];
 		$datarray["author-link"] = $person["url"];
-		$datarray["author-avatar"] = ((x($person, "thumb")) ? $person["thumb"] : $person["photo"]);
+		$datarray["author-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($person["url"], 0);
 
-		$datarray["owner-name"] = $contact["name"];
 		$datarray["owner-link"] = $contact["url"];
-		$datarray["owner-avatar"] = ((x($contact, "thumb")) ? $contact["thumb"] : $contact["photo"]);
+		$datarray["owner-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($contact["url"], 0);
 
 		$datarray["guid"] = $guid;
 		$datarray["uri"] = self::getUriFromGuid($author, $guid);
@@ -2079,7 +2059,7 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		// like on comments have the comment as parent. So we need to fetch the toplevel parent
 		if ($parent_item["id"] != $parent_item["parent"]) {
-			$toplevel = dba::selectFirst('item', ['origin'], ['id' => $parent_item["parent"]]);
+			$toplevel = Item::selectFirst(['origin'], ['id' => $parent_item["parent"]]);
 			$origin = $toplevel["origin"];
 		} else {
 			$origin = $parent_item["origin"];
@@ -2216,7 +2196,7 @@ class Diaspora
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$item = dba::selectFirst('item', ['id'], ['guid' => $parent_guid, 'origin' => true, 'private' => false]);
+		$item = Item::selectFirst(['id'], ['guid' => $parent_guid, 'origin' => true, 'private' => false]);
 		if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			logger('Item not found, no origin or private: '.$parent_guid);
 			return false;
@@ -2237,11 +2217,11 @@ class Diaspora
 		}
 
 		// Send all existing comments and likes to the requesting server
-		$comments = dba::p("SELECT `item`.`id`, `item`.`verb`, `contact`.`self`
-				FROM `item`
-				INNER JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
-				WHERE `item`.`parent` = ? AND `item`.`id` != `item`.`parent`", $item['id']);
+		$comments = Item::select(['id', 'verb', 'self'], ['parent' => $item['id']]);
 		while ($comment = dba::fetch($comments)) {
+			if ($comment['id'] == $comment['parent']) {
+				continue;
+			}
 			if ($comment['verb'] == ACTIVITY_POST) {
 				$cmd = $comment['self'] ? 'comment-new' : 'comment-import';
 			} else {
@@ -2599,7 +2579,7 @@ class Diaspora
 		$fields = ['body', 'tag', 'app', 'created', 'object-type', 'uri', 'guid',
 			'author-name', 'author-link', 'author-avatar'];
 		$condition = ['guid' => $guid, 'visible' => true, 'deleted' => false, 'private' => false];
-		$item = dba::selectfirst('item', $fields, $condition);
+		$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, $condition);
 
 		if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			logger("reshared message ".$guid." already exists on system.");
@@ -2643,7 +2623,7 @@ class Diaspora
 				$fields = ['body', 'tag', 'app', 'created', 'object-type', 'uri', 'guid',
 					'author-name', 'author-link', 'author-avatar'];
 				$condition = ['guid' => $guid, 'visible' => true, 'deleted' => false, 'private' => false];
-				$item = dba::selectfirst('item', $fields, $condition);
+				$item = Item::selectFirst($fields, $condition);
 
 				if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 					// If it is a reshared post from another network then reformat to avoid display problems with two share elements
@@ -2701,13 +2681,11 @@ class Diaspora
 		$datarray["contact-id"] = $contact["id"];
 		$datarray["network"]  = NETWORK_DIASPORA;
 
-		$datarray["author-name"] = $contact["name"];
 		$datarray["author-link"] = $contact["url"];
-		$datarray["author-avatar"] = ((x($contact, "thumb")) ? $contact["thumb"] : $contact["photo"]);
+		$datarray["author-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($contact["url"], 0);
 
-		$datarray["owner-name"] = $datarray["author-name"];
 		$datarray["owner-link"] = $datarray["author-link"];
-		$datarray["owner-avatar"] = $datarray["author-avatar"];
+		$datarray["owner-id"] = $datarray["author-id"];
 
 		$datarray["guid"] = $guid;
 		$datarray["uri"] = $datarray["parent-uri"] = self::getUriFromGuid($author, $guid);
@@ -2787,7 +2765,7 @@ class Diaspora
 		} else {
 			$condition = ["`guid` = ? AND `uid` = ? AND NOT `file` LIKE '%%[%%' AND NOT `deleted`", $target_guid, $importer['uid']];
 		}
-		$r = dba::select('item', $fields, $condition);
+		$r = Item::select($fields, $condition);
 		if (!DBM::is_result($r)) {
 			logger("Target guid ".$target_guid." was not found on this system for user ".$importer['uid'].".");
 			return false;
@@ -2795,7 +2773,7 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		while ($item = dba::fetch($r)) {
 			// Fetch the parent item
-			$parent = dba::selectFirst('item', ['author-link'], ['id' => $item["parent"]]);
+			$parent = Item::selectFirst(['author-link'], ['id' => $item["parent"]]);
 
 			// Only delete it if the parent author really fits
 			if (!link_compare($parent["author-link"], $contact["url"]) && !link_compare($item["author-link"], $contact["url"])) {
@@ -2921,13 +2899,11 @@ class Diaspora
 		$datarray["contact-id"] = $contact["id"];
 		$datarray["network"] = NETWORK_DIASPORA;
 
-		$datarray["author-name"] = $contact["name"];
 		$datarray["author-link"] = $contact["url"];
-		$datarray["author-avatar"] = ((x($contact, "thumb")) ? $contact["thumb"] : $contact["photo"]);
+		$datarray["author-id"] = Contact::getIdForURL($contact["url"], 0);
 
-		$datarray["owner-name"] = $datarray["author-name"];
 		$datarray["owner-link"] = $datarray["author-link"];
-		$datarray["owner-avatar"] = $datarray["author-avatar"];
+		$datarray["owner-id"] = $datarray["author-id"];
 
 		$datarray["guid"] = $guid;
 		$datarray["uri"] = $datarray["parent-uri"] = self::getUriFromGuid($author, $guid);
@@ -3433,7 +3409,7 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		if (($guid != "") && $complete) {
 			$condition = ['guid' => $guid, 'network' => [NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA]];
-			$item = dba::selectFirst('item', ['contact-id'], $condition);
+			$item = Item::selectFirst(['contact-id'], $condition);
 			if (DBM::is_result($item)) {
 				$ret= [];
 				$ret["root_handle"] = self::handleFromContact($item["contact-id"]);
@@ -3700,16 +3676,11 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function constructLike($item, $owner)
 	{
-		$p = q(
-			"SELECT `guid`, `uri`, `parent-uri` FROM `item` WHERE `uri` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-			dbesc($item["thr-parent"])
-		);
-		if (!DBM::is_result($p)) {
+		$parent = Item::selectFirst(['guid', 'uri', 'parent-uri'], ['uri' => $item["thr-parent"]]);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($parent)) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$parent = $p[0];
-
 		$target_type = ($parent["uri"] === $parent["parent-uri"] ? "Post" : "Comment");
 		$positive = null;
 		if ($item['verb'] === ACTIVITY_LIKE) {
@@ -3736,16 +3707,11 @@ class Diaspora
 	 */
 	private static function constructAttend($item, $owner)
 	{
-		$p = q(
-			"SELECT `guid`, `uri`, `parent-uri` FROM `item` WHERE `uri` = '%s' LIMIT 1",
-			dbesc($item["thr-parent"])
-		);
-		if (!DBM::is_result($p)) {
+		$parent = Item::selectFirst(['guid', 'uri', 'parent-uri'], ['uri' => $item["thr-parent"]]);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($parent)) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$parent = $p[0];
-
 		switch ($item['verb']) {
 			case ACTIVITY_ATTEND:
 				$attend_answer = 'accepted';
@@ -3785,18 +3751,11 @@ class Diaspora
 			return $result;
 		}
 
-		$p = q(
-			"SELECT `guid` FROM `item` WHERE `parent` = %d AND `id` = %d LIMIT 1",
-			intval($item["parent"]),
-			intval($item["parent"])
-		);
-
-		if (!DBM::is_result($p)) {
+		$parent = Item::selectFirst(['guid'], ['id' => $item["parent"], 'parent' => $item["parent"]]);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($parent)) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$parent = $p[0];
-
 		$text = html_entity_decode(BBCode::toMarkdown($item["body"]));
 		$created = DateTimeFormat::utc($item["created"], DateTimeFormat::ATOM);
 
@@ -4265,16 +4224,16 @@ class Diaspora
 
 		$contact["uprvkey"] = $r[0]['prvkey'];
 
-		$r = q("SELECT * FROM `item` WHERE `id` = %d LIMIT 1", intval($post_id));
-		if (!DBM::is_result($r)) {
+		$item = Item::selectFirst([], ['id' => $post_id]);
+		if (!DBM::is_result($item)) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		if (!in_array($r[0]["verb"], [ACTIVITY_LIKE, ACTIVITY_DISLIKE])) {
+		if (!in_array($item["verb"], [ACTIVITY_LIKE, ACTIVITY_DISLIKE])) {
 			return false;
 		}
 
-		$message = self::constructLike($r[0], $contact);
+		$message = self::constructLike($item, $contact);
 		if ($message === false) {
 			return false;
 		}
diff --git a/src/Worker/Delivery.php b/src/Worker/Delivery.php
index f91d0c1983..15273762ab 100644
--- a/src/Worker/Delivery.php
+++ b/src/Worker/Delivery.php
@@ -59,14 +59,10 @@ class Delivery extends BaseObject
 			}
 			$parent_id = intval($item['parent']);
 
-			$itemdata = dba::p("SELECT `item`.*, `contact`.`uid` AS `cuid`,
-							`sign`.`signed_text`,`sign`.`signature`,`sign`.`signer`
-						FROM `item`
-						INNER JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
-						LEFT JOIN `sign` ON `sign`.`iid` = `item`.`id`
-						WHERE `item`.`id` IN (?, ?) AND `visible` AND NOT `moderated`
-						ORDER BY `item`.`id`",
-					$item_id, $parent_id);
+			$condition = ['id' => [$item_id, $parent_id], 'visible' => true, 'moderated' => false];
+			$params = ['order' => ['id']];
+			$itemdata = Item::select([], $condition, $params);
+
 			$items = [];
 			while ($item = dba::fetch($itemdata)) {
 				if ($item['id'] == $parent_id) {
@@ -79,7 +75,7 @@ class Delivery extends BaseObject
 			}
 			dba::close($itemdata);
 
-			$uid = $target_item['cuid'];
+			$uid = $target_item['contact-uid'];
 
 			// avoid race condition with deleting entries
 			if ($items[0]['deleted']) {
diff --git a/src/Worker/Notifier.php b/src/Worker/Notifier.php
index 6ad6827f7c..61b296a265 100644
--- a/src/Worker/Notifier.php
+++ b/src/Worker/Notifier.php
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ use Friendica\Core\Worker;
 use Friendica\Database\DBM;
 use Friendica\Model\Contact;
 use Friendica\Model\Group;
+use Friendica\Model\Item;
 use Friendica\Model\User;
 use Friendica\Model\PushSubscriber;
 use Friendica\Network\Probe;
@@ -104,27 +105,27 @@ class Notifier {
 						intval($uid), NETWORK_DFRN, NETWORK_DIASPORA);
 		} else {
 			// find ancestors
-			$target_item = dba::fetch_first("SELECT `item`.*, `contact`.`uid` AS `cuid` FROM `item`
-						INNER JOIN `contact` ON `contact`.`id` = `item`.`contact-id`
-						WHERE `item`.`id` = ? AND `visible` AND NOT `moderated`", $item_id);
+			$condition = ['id' => $item_id, 'visible' => true, 'moderated' => false];
+			$target_item = Item::selectFirst([], $condition);
 
 			if (!DBM::is_result($target_item) || !intval($target_item['parent'])) {
 				return;
 			}
 
 			$parent_id = intval($target_item['parent']);
-			$uid = $target_item['cuid'];
+			$uid = $target_item['contact-uid'];
 			$updated = $target_item['edited'];
 
-			$items = q("SELECT `item`.*, `sign`.`signed_text`,`sign`.`signature`,`sign`.`signer`
-				FROM `item` LEFT JOIN `sign` ON `sign`.`iid` = `item`.`id` WHERE `parent` = %d AND visible AND NOT moderated ORDER BY `id` ASC",
-				intval($parent_id)
-			);
+			$condition = ['parent' => $parent_id, 'visible' => true, 'moderated' => false];
+			$params = ['order' => ['id']];
+			$ret = Item::select([], $condition, $params);
 
-			if (!count($items)) {
+			if (!DBM::is_result($ret)) {
 				return;
 			}
 
+			$items = dba::inArray($ret);
+
 			// avoid race condition with deleting entries
 			if ($items[0]['deleted']) {
 				foreach ($items as $item) {