Hey Colin, To echo Mark's comment, we'd appreciate a report so that we can look into the app and take any necessary action. If you like, you can directly reply to me with a name or URL and I'd be happy to investigate.
Brian On Jan 11, 4:38 pm, Colin <colinjos...@googlemail.com> wrote: > I've discovered an online application - I won't mention the name - but > it seems to break Twitter API. I'm wondering how they get away with > it. > > Here's what the application does. It allows the user to enter a number > of keyword phrases to monitor with. Every time a phrase is mentioned > e.g. twitter api, it replies to the person who sent that tweet with an > automated response e.g. 'to find out more about twitter api visithttp://xxx' > > Seems there's a couple of issues here. > > 1. How are they getting passed rate limiting to scan every tweet and > then send out a reply? The application could have thousands of users! > > 2. According to Twitter "The @reply function is intended to make > communication between users easier, and automating this process to put > unsolicited messages into lots of users’ reply tabs is considered an > abuse of feature. If you are automatically sending @reply messages to > a bunch of users, the recipients must request or approve this action > in advance. For example, sending automated @replies based on keyword > searches is not permitted. > > Users should also have an easy way to opt-out of your service (in > addition to the requirement that all users must opt-in before > receiving the messages). We review blocks and reports of spam, so > you’ll need to provide a clear way for users to stop your messages. > > *Spam: You may not use the Twitter service for the purpose of spamming > anyone. What constitutes “spamming” will evolve as we respond to new > tricks and tactics by spammers. Some of the factors that we take into > account when determining what conduct is considered to be spamming > are: > > If you send large numbers of duplicate @replies; > If you send large numbers of unsolicited @replies in an attempt to > spam a service or link;" > > Can anyone explain to me how this online application is getting around > these issues? > > Thanks > > Colin
