Facebook Developers

Adobe is planning to release a security update for Flash Player 9 next month (April 2008). Adobe informed Facebook that this update can potentially break Platform applications that use Flash.

If any of the following situations apply to your application, then your application could be affected by the update.

• You use sockets or XMLSockets, regardless of the domain to which you are connecting
• You use addRequestHeader or URLRequest.requestHeaders in any network API call when sending or loading data cross-domain
• You provide access to content on remote domains as a web service provider
• You have SWFs that are exported for Flash Player 7 (SWF7) or earlier that communicate with the hosting HTML by any means
• You use "javascript:" through network APIs to communicate outside a SWF

This security update also includes the second phase of their implementation for authorizing socket policy files.

You can read the full article about the update at the Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flashplayer/articles/flash_player9_security_update.html

To increase the value of email that applications send to users and to give users control over what email they want to receive, we are rolling out a user feedback-based allocation system for email early next week. The static limit on the number of email messages an application can send to a given user per day will be determined primarily by the rate at which users disable email from within an email message. Based upon positive data, the opt-out link will be moved to the bottom of the email for a significant percentage of applications. Since having the link at the top generally increases the rate that users click on it, clicks from the bottom of an email will be weighted differently than clicks at the top, so that scores will be based on the quality of the communication, not the location of the message. We will also take into account fluctuations in the amount of email sent, so your email limit will not decrease if you start sending less email overall.

You can view your allocations and metrics on the Insights stats page. You can retrieve your allocations through the API with Admin.getAllocation.

The default behavior for an iframe-based canvas page is for it to be "smartsized", in which the iframe fits the remaining space on the page. This option does not allow the application itself to control or change the size of the iframe. For example, the smartsize attribute does not help an application that wants the canvas page to fit the content of iframe when the size of the content itself is not fixed.

To solve this issue and give developers more control on the size of the iframe element on their canvas page, we added a new "resizable" attribute (that also applies to the fb:iframe tag) that allows application developers to use JavaScript inside an iframe to query and control the size of the iframe element that hosts it.

You can see a demo of an iframe-based application using this feature at this link. You can learn more about this feature on the Facebook Developers Wiki at http://wiki.developers.facebook.com/index.php/Resizable_IFrame.

The resizable option for iframes is supported in the updated Facebook JavaScript client library. See this link for more details.

Starting today, you can serve XML sitemaps off apps.facebook.com domain, and notify search engines about changes on your pages. Naturally, this works better for pages that display content without requiring logins.

The best way to showcase your Facebook application to search engines is to register your site with appropriate services:

• Google Webmaster Central
• Yahoo! Search Site Explorer
• Live Search Webmaster Center
• Ask.com Help for Webmasters

Each one of those services allows you to register a sitemap that lists out all URLs that search engines might find relevant. Publishing a sitemap does not guarantee inclusion in the index, but it does facilitate it for pages not linked anywhere else on the Web. Facebook will serve any file with ".xml.gz" extension without interpreting it through FBML parser.

When your pages are updated, you can additionally notify search engines about this change by issuing GET requests to these URLs:

• Ping Google (more)
• Ping Yahoo! (more)
• Ping Live (more)
• Ping Ask (more)

As we move towards the new Facebook profile, one of our major goals is to improve the quality of feed stories. We want users to have a sense of ownership of their Mini-Feed and trust in the stories that are created on their behalf. Since applications make up such a large portion of feed content, our aim is to give developers a simple way to publish rich feed stories with user approval.

With this goal in mind we are happy to announce the beta release of the feed forms, two new FBML primitives specifically designed for creating quality feed stories. These forms provide a standard interface for user-approved feed stories within the flow of an application.

Multi-Feed form lets applications create social stories that are displayed in the feeds of a user and their friends. Whenever you ask a user to enter friends within the flow of a canvas page, you can also request to publish interaction feed stories. This form creates the potential for an entire new class of interesting stories, including tagging, gifts, and public messaging.

Feed form fills a similar need for publishing to a single user's feed. Instead of using the API to send stories, you can now change any form on a canvas page into a publish form. This creates an inline feed preview with the story. Since these stories are trusted, they are treated differently within feed and help us gauge an application's quality. We strongly encourage developers to use this method for stories users create within a canvas page.

The technical specifications for the two new forms are laid out in detail on the wiki. We're excited to see how you use these two new channels and are happy to hear any ideas for how we can encourage great feed stories. If you have any questions or comments, send us an email at developer-feedback@facebook.com and put [feed forms] in the subject line.

Last week we gave you the first look at how we're changing the Facebook profile. As we expected, we received some good feedback as well as requests for more details. Today we're presenting answers to some questions that were asked.

1. Will Facebook applications appear in the narrow column?
   Facebook applications won't appear in the narrow column by default, but users can add them there if they so choose.
2. How many applications will appear in the narrow column?
   By default, three applications will appear in the narrow column. The rest will appear in the extended profile, like they can today.
3. What are the width and height of the profile box in the narrow column?
   Profile boxes in the narrow column will continue to have the same width and padding as today (200 pixels wide, including 8 pixels of padding on each side), with a maximum height of 400 pixels.
4. On which tabs will the narrow column appear?
   The narrow column will definitely appear on the "Wall" tab. It will possibly appear on the About tab.
5. Will the narrow column appear on the application tabs?
   At this time, the narrow column will not appear on an application tab. This is to keep user focused on the selected application.
6. Will the About tab have profile boxes?
   Yes, up to five profile boxes can appear on the About tab. We'll provide two templates for formatting the boxes, one for lists and one for thumbnails with captions.
7. What is the width of About tab box?
   The About tab box is going to be 500 pixels wide. We're adding an additional 10 pixels of padding on the left side and 20 pixels of padding on the right.
8. Can applications go in the wide column?
   There are no profile boxes in the wide column of the "Wall" tab. However, there will be sections for applications in the wide column on the About tab. See the screen shot of the About tab. Note the section for the "My Best Friends" application (bear in mind that the design might change).
9. Will there be a general tab for all applications?
   While we aren't providing a tab for all applications, we are considering a tab on the user's Facebook Home page for application boxes.
10. What do I need to do to create an application tab?
    Application tabs will work like regular canvas pages. We'll release more information on integrating into application tabs soon.
11. How many application tabs can exist before they appear in the "more" section?
    We are currently deciding between two and four.
12. What is the width for the new application tabs?
    Application tabs will run the width of the page -- 903 pixels. We're adding an additional 20 pixels of padding on each side. The screen shot of the Photos tab should give you an idea of the dimensions of an application tab. (Note that the design of the Photos tab and of application tabs overall might change.)
13. How many application profile action links can appear?
    By default, three application profile action links will appear on the profile, but that can change depending on user behavior. There won't be a link to display more profile action links.
14. Are there going to be new API calls or FBML tags?
    Yes, we are changing the Platform API and creating new FBML tags. We will release more information about them very soon on this blog.
15. Why are you combining Wall and Mini-Feed on the "Wall" tab?
    The profile is a place where a user might catch up with a friend by reading a new Wall post, or by seeing a Mini-Feed story with pictures from a trip they just took. While the Wall and Mini-Feed may seem like two totally separate things, both can contribute towards telling a more complete story. The idea behind combining the Wall and Mini-Feed is to put all of the most important information in the same place, so users don't have to constantly search around to keep up with their friends. We've posted a screenshot detailing this on the Facebook Profiles Previews Page (become a fan of this Page so you can stay up to date on the improved profile). The new "Wall" now consists of Wall posts as we currently know them, but also stories users once saw in their Mini-Feeds. This allows friends to write on a user's wall, directly after other content they might find interesting. The goal is to make a cleaner, more relevant Wall that compiles the most relevant information about the people a user cares about. And given the Wall's popularity with users, we are working out a way to easily filter down to just Wall posts from a friend's profile.
16. What is the timeframe for us to make these changes?
    We plan to release the updated profile to our users in early April, 2008.

As always, we welcome your feedback. Send your comments or questions to developer-feedback@facebook.com. Please put [new profile] in the subject line.

As part of our ongoing quest to improve Platform and communicate openly, we are going to hold a series of Developer Roundtable events at the Facebook offices in Palo Alto. You’ll meet the Platform team and other developers. You’ll have a chance to discuss developing Platform applications, best practices, and monetization strategies, and we’ll gather your feedback and feature requests.

The roundtables will take place once a month and will alternate between technical- and business-focused topics. If you are interested in attending a roundtable, please email roundtable@facebook.com with the following information:

• Relevant Contact Info (Name, Email, Phone #, etc)
• Title, Company
• Application Canvas Page URLs
• Number of Active Users
• A short paragraph describing why you think you could add value to the discussion

We will try and accommodate most if not all of the requests to attend these events over the next 10 months (and beyond) and will do our best to match you up with appropriate subject matter.

Your feedback is important to us. While we may not be able to accommodate every feature request or incorporate every suggestion, we will take your thoughts into account as we continue to improve Platform.

Our first roundtable will take place in late March and will focus on the profile redesign.

If you are interested in participating in or learning about additional Facebook events, including our Developer Garage program, please become a fan of the Facebook Platform Page for updates or check out the schedule on the Facebook Developer Wiki for a list of upcoming events.