diff --git a/lib/ownerdesignaction.php b/lib/ownerdesignaction.php
new file mode 100644
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--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/ownerdesignaction.php
@@ -0,0 +1,72 @@
+<?php
+/**
+ * Laconica, the distributed open-source microblogging tool
+ *
+ * Base class for actions that use the page owner's design
+ *
+ * PHP version 5
+ *
+ * LICENCE: 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/>.
+ *
+ * @category  Action
+ * @package   Laconica
+ * @author    Evan Prodromou <evan@controlyourself.ca>
+ * @copyright 2009 Control Yourself, Inc.
+ * @license   http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/agpl-3.0.html GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0
+ * @link      http://laconi.ca/
+ */
+
+if (!defined('LACONICA')) {
+    exit(1);
+}
+
+/**
+ * Base class for actions that use the page owner's design
+ *
+ * Some pages have a clear "owner" -- like the profile page, subscriptions
+ * pages, etc. This superclass uses that owner's chosen design for the page
+ * design.
+ *
+ * @category Action
+ * @package  Laconica
+ * @author   Evan Prodromou <evan@controlyourself.ca>
+ * @license  http://www.fsf.org/licensing/licenses/agpl-3.0.html GNU Affero General Public License version 3.0
+ * @link     http://laconi.ca/
+ *
+ */
+
+class OwnerDesignAction extends Action {
+
+    /** The user for this page. */
+
+    var $user = null;
+
+    /**
+     * A design for this action
+     *
+     * if the user attribute has been set, returns that user's
+     * design.
+     *
+     * @return Design a design object to use
+     */
+
+    function getDesign()
+    {
+        if (empty($this->user)) {
+            return null;
+        }
+
+        return $this->user->getDesign();
+    }
+}