Facebook Connect is the next big thing?

Mark_Overmars

has anyone started creating or working on a facebook connect add-on for vanilla 2. im working on this now, it would be very good for vanilla because phpbb and other community open source softwares have nearly implemented this important add-on. thanks

Mark

I did some looking into this addon recently. The most difficult part is that for each implementation, the administrator will need to set up a fb app (and associated api key) to get the addon working. It's not like you'll just be able to turn on and addon and have it work (correct me if I'm wrong).

I definitely think this is an important add-on. I'm also thinking of related open-social addons, though. Wondering if there is a generic format we can adopt that can work for every open-social connection method.

garymardell

The only/easiest maybe solution for a format that can work for every open social connection would be to create something similar to a service like https://rpxnow.com/

SubJunk

Ugh I hate those API key thingymajiggers

garymardell

Yeah, but i was just saying that its the only real way to provide it with a generic format.

fredwu

An open source alternative to rpxnow would be very nice. :-)

Too bad rpxnow is a proprietary system.

Mark_Overmars

im working on the facebook connect thing now, first im going to implent it on my site then make another as an app for vanilla devlopers to noodle around with @mark yeh the api and secret thingy are the trickiest bits. but well give it a go

Mark

Glad to hear it, @Mark_Overmars!

BlakeX

OpenID?

Louis

Yeah, @BlakeX is on the right track. OpenID means 0-signup, it just works, with every provider but Facebook and Microsoft, last I checked. That means you can login with AOL, Yahoo, Google/Gmail, and so many others. I wrote some code last year while trying to get the big three (Microsoft, OpenID, Facebook) to work together in Ruby. And let me tell ya, it wasn't fun.

For Microsoft you don't ever get to keep the data if I recall correctly, and for Facebook you can only keep it for 24 hours. So you should be pinging every 24 hours or on-request for new Facebook avatars etc.-- and even then, you might need to ask for additional permissions to do so and any data given to you from their Facebook profile belongs to Facebook and must not be cached so it always says what Facebook has.

It makes sense, but it inverts the profile model we have now, where the app has the data. Essentially, Facebook and Microsoft (and anything more complicated than OpenID) puts limits on what you can do as an app and both making things easier and harder than just a simple Single-Sign-On (SSO) solution. So the trouble arose when I realised I'd have to both maintain a User account setup as well as the code required to import and refresh that of Facebook profiles, etc.

Then there's the account linking of multiple profiles, and resetting passwords or getting email permissions, and ... I just kind of gave up on Facebook Connect at that point. Still worth looking in to, especially since there's probably more written for PHP than any other language out there.

Stash

And OAuth

formloves

The facebook connect plugin I'm using for WordPress just uses the mobile email address to publish. Not very sophisticated, but it gets the content from my blog to the FB page. Might be a place to start for a Vanilla plugin?

bobtheman

while facebook connect may currently seem intriguing, i think the key word is Currently. If we would of had this discussion three years ago the talk of the town was Myspace, so on and so forth. Facebook is popular for now, until something else comes along to take its place.

Not to mention from my understanding, facebook tends to bring about changes and updates with little notice to third party developers, leaving mods/plugins/addons inoperable.

Raize

I would prefer more Twitter oriented features (such as those already being adopted) rather than Facebook. I never thought Mr Zuckerberg would let it happen, but Facebook is headed down the same path that lead to MySpace's eventual decline. Bloat, spam, noise...kinda sucks but oh well...it has outlived it's usefulness but Forums will always live on.

Stash

I don't think it really matters whether you like Facebook or not (I don't), but to ignore Facebook Connect, at this stage, would potentially massively reduce the total number of people who may sign up to any Vanilla forum.

There's millions of people who use Facebook, so why not make it easy for them to use Vanilla Forums?

Raize

I don't view Vanilla and Facebook as mutually exclusive services...people go to Facebook for a different reason then they go to Forums, so a forum doesn't necessarily need to be dependent on Facebook for growth. I'm just saying that Facebook will be a less important source of traffic in the upcoming years.

I do agree that Facebook connect has 2 potential benefits for any site that chooses to implement it, namely a reduced barrier for registration and the ability to attract news feed traffic from Facebook. However, these benefits do come at a cost which may or may not be worth it depending on your marketing strategy.

Raize

Not to mention that Vanilla is extremely lightweight, whereas Facebook connect is not.

bobtheman

Now, if it were possible to develop an open source plugin that allows for multiple platform authentication "sorta like rpxnow"... this would be interesting. rather or not its in the best interest for the vanilla project is a different story.

I think in the long run you will notice basically web trends, myspace today, facebook tomarrow, something else down the road. Facebook now works with OpenID

http://mashable.com/2009/05/18/facebook-openid-2/

OpenID support may be a viable option to look into

GumCloud

Disqus.com uses the same concept for its commenting system and found a way on how to prevent users from manually applying for the API key in Facebook.

I hope this would be possible in vanilla 2:)

bobtheman

@Mark
ive noticed that applications like gwibber http://www.gwibber.com have included facebook integration without all the api facebook app stuff. Also, pidgin http://www.pidgin.im supports facebook chat also through xmpp

coolgates

Bump - anyone had any luck with this? Is there an Add-on available? I'd be willing to plunk down some $ for someone to develop Facebook Connect integration.