Facebook changes Open Graph guidelines to stop applications auto-posting | Hacker News Reader

Facebook changes Open Graph guidelines to stop applications auto-posting

developers.facebook.com

47 pointsbrackin22 comments

Great change. I'm glad Facebook is experimenting with features -- and I'm also glad that when the features turn out to be user-hostile, they have the power to remove them.

I have always found the authenticated referrals, in particular, extremely sketchy. It seems my persistence in clicking "Mark As Spam" on these types of stories has paid off. :)

I think it is overall a good move by Facebook, but this change will negatively impact those apps that are using actually useful actions in a responsible way like "Want", "Review" etc. It's sad to see those apps being lumped in with the offenders.

[EDIT] - It looks like apps that use actions like "Want" etc. are actually going to be ok :) https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/guidelines/

Can you think of a way of structuring the system to differentiate the good guys from the bad guys?

The guidelines specifically note that actions such as "want" which correlate to an actual activity are acceptable, provided the user is taking an action to trigger the story. The new policy is against passive custom actions triggered by reading content, etc.

This line may hold what you are referring to: "custom actions that automatically publish back to Facebook as a person consumes content"

What isn't clear to me is what it means to "automatically publish" to Facebook.

Furthermore, how can Facebook even tell or is this a TOS sort of thing?

Does this block apps like Spotify from displaying songs you are listening too? I'm curious as to how strict they will be about this.

Likely not if they're able to make profit from it...

That's an interesting one, I'd guess Spotify would be whitelisted if not as they started using the open graph before the public launch.

Most apps hook you in to click from seeing a post on someone else's timeline and auto posts what you're looking at to yours like a virus. Spotify posts because you've decided to share what you're listening to and it's disable-able. It's slightly less passive.

Social Cam sold at a good time, Viddy on the other hand are going to have to try and convince investors they're worth their $400m valuation.

That seems to be specifically allowed. Apps that help people automatically share stories about content as they consume it, such as the music you are listening to, can be good experiences when apps create clear expectations for the user of what is being shared and when.

Oh, okay! I must have missed that part. Thanks! :)

how convenient ;)

Only built-in action types [1] are allowed, if you keep reading. This includes: "Listen - Song".

Specifically:

The following Built-in Action-Object pairs are available:

Like - Any Object Type Follow - Profile Listen - Song Read - Article Watch - Video, Movie, TV Show, or TV Episode

IMO a great change for user experience.

1 - https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/actions/built...

Those are 'custom opengraph' stories and not wallposting on a user's behalf -- this announcement is unrelated.

Hold the phone. This policy change is only so apps can't auto-publish to your friends' timelines. It doesn't say anything about auto-publishing to your timeline, which I imagine is still allowed.

An incremental improvement at best.. but still an improvement.

It is my understanding that apps can no longer publish automatically at all ;

"In order to provide users with experiences that meet their expectations, we will no longer approve custom actions that publish stories as people consume content. These apps must use the appropriate built-in actions or create a different sharing experience."

> It is my understanding that apps can no longer publish automatically at all

You are misreading what they are specifically saying. First, we are talking about custom actions. Built in actions that FB provides are still allowed to be auto-published.

Secondly, the restriction is merely on consuming content. You can debate what that means, but performing specific actions can still be auto-shared. However, simply consuming content, using custom actions, will not be permitted.

So, listening to music can still be reported as you listen to music (this is a built in action), but viewing a picture won't fly.

That's true. Here is the list of built-in actions:

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/opengraph/objects/built...

It's nice to see Facebook has no qualms about shutting down some of these near-abusive practices.

While it is nice to see Facebook has no qualms about shutting down features, it is also problematic for people who build their businesses on a platform that is constantly shifting it's policies and features.

Those who live by the platform die by the platform. You get a lot of distribution using the platform, but you have to switch channels occasionally and monitor how well the channel is doing independently. In the meantime, keep growing that email list..

This is definitely good for Facebook. I wonder what will happen to autoposting apps like IFTTT

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