Saturday, May 31, 2008
Require-Login/Require-Add
Facebook is changing the recommended and default behaviors for require_login and require_add.
In part, this is because so many people are flummoxed when they try a new app for the first time and have to decide whether or not to add it before they have a chance to find out what it is.
In the book's example, we use require_login by default at the beginning (which is now the Facebook policy). This allows users to browse events and see their friends' events. We then use require_add to bottleneck the requests to update our database.
This will change with the new structure. Because we have used require_login wherever possible to improve our user experience, we only will need to adjust the require_add calls which we have already used sparingly. Specific features that require_add now will be moved as follows (remember, this is not final):
In general, these simplify the user experience and close some areas that allowed over-enthusiastic app developers to annoy users with excess email and the like. In a related area, forced invites are now a violation of the TOS unless they are required for functionality (an app requires a user to have a friend using the app so that they can interact) or the reason for the forced invite is made clear.
In part, this is because so many people are flummoxed when they try a new app for the first time and have to decide whether or not to add it before they have a chance to find out what it is.
In the book's example, we use require_login by default at the beginning (which is now the Facebook policy). This allows users to browse events and see their friends' events. We then use require_add to bottleneck the requests to update our database.
This will change with the new structure. Because we have used require_login wherever possible to improve our user experience, we only will need to adjust the require_add calls which we have already used sparingly. Specific features that require_add now will be moved as follows (remember, this is not final):
. Put a box in my profile: now an FBML button so the process is one step (you want a box? click here--not add the app or change the settings....THEN click here)
. Put a link in left nav. Left nav is gone, replaced by the Applications menu. When you're in an app's canvas page, you'll have a new bookmark feature which will add it to the Applications menu. You can rearrange the Applications menu from Edit My Applications.
. Publish stories in my News Feed. Enabled by default; disable in Edit My Applications. Stories of more than one line require user approval to send.
. Email notifications to users. Disabled by default. To enable it, users will need to click an interface element on your canvas page. This is not controlled by Edit My Applications.
. Add profile actions links. Deprecated: there are none in the new interface.
In general, these simplify the user experience and close some areas that allowed over-enthusiastic app developers to annoy users with excess email and the like. In a related area, forced invites are now a violation of the TOS unless they are required for functionality (an app requires a user to have a friend using the app so that they can interact) or the reason for the forced invite is made clear.
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Since when are Forced Invites a violation of the TOS?
Taken directly from Platform Policy:
As part of our ongoing evolution of policies to provide the best possible user experience, effective 2 June 2008 at noon Pacific time, Platform policy wiki rule 2.6 will be changed to read as follows:
[Applications cannot] Require that users invite, notify, or otherwise communicate with one or more friends to gain access to any feature, information, or portion of the application, unless (a) it would be logically impossible to deliver that content without the user's friend(s) also using the application, and (b) the fact of this requirement, and the reason(s) for it, are explicitly and prominently explained inside the application before the first element of the flow path users would reasonably expect to lead to that content.
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Taken directly from Platform Policy:
As part of our ongoing evolution of policies to provide the best possible user experience, effective 2 June 2008 at noon Pacific time, Platform policy wiki rule 2.6 will be changed to read as follows:
[Applications cannot] Require that users invite, notify, or otherwise communicate with one or more friends to gain access to any feature, information, or portion of the application, unless (a) it would be logically impossible to deliver that content without the user's friend(s) also using the application, and (b) the fact of this requirement, and the reason(s) for it, are explicitly and prominently explained inside the application before the first element of the flow path users would reasonably expect to lead to that content.
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