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Facebook Launches One-Way Mailbox API.

jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
If someone creates an app that lets me select ALL unread messages, like every last one, not just that paginated group and mark them as read, I will love you. My fb mailbox is 500+ unread now and id like to have it put down to zero so I can actually use it.
- GraffitiTim 17y ago
  The inbox API is read-only, so that app can't currently be built.
  - jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
    yeah, saw that. my thought is that if you query a message and its sent, fb would mark that read on their end? Couldn't you query all messages that are unread, execute a basic loop statement, and call it a day. Not sure how rate limiting would play into it.
- ryanwaggoner 17y ago
  Could you create some kind of macro that pages through, then selects all unread, then marks as read? Maybe with something like this: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863
codedivine 17y ago
Why not make it real email than implementing half-baked solutions?
- lyime 17y ago
  That's because it will most likely result in more spam. If you give write access to the inbox then app developers will go crazy. Notifications from apps (bottom right) are already starting to fill my stream.
acg 17y ago
Speaking from experience I really don't want more FB mail: the interface terrible. Is anyone convinced on using FB for anything apart from looking at your mate's holiday photos and keeping in touch?
- dmoho 17y ago
  I try not to send messages through FB because it seems that they never delete anything.
Cantdog 17y ago
Buying FriendFeed just got a bit more interesting. Getting Paul Buchheit is a huge score if Facebook is going to focus on building a full featured mail system. My uneducated guess would be that ads on gmail don't perform all that well, but if facebook could figure out how to monetize messaging that would be huge.
jgilliam 17y ago
The fact that this API is one-way really highlights the difference between Facebook and Twitter. It's one-way because Facebook has to be worried about spam since anyone can send a message to anyone else. Twitter doesn't have this issue because you have to opt-in before you ever receive a message from someone.

If someone creates an app that lets me select ALL unread messages, like every last one, not just that paginated group and mark them as read, I will love you. My fb mailbox is 500+ unread now and id like to have it put down to zero so I can actually use it.

GraffitiTim 17y ago
The inbox API is read-only, so that app can't currently be built.
- jasonlbaptiste 17y ago
  yeah, saw that. my thought is that if you query a message and its sent, fb would mark that read on their end? Couldn't you query all messages that are unread, execute a basic loop statement, and call it a day. Not sure how rate limiting would play into it.
ryanwaggoner 17y ago
Could you create some kind of macro that pages through, then selects all unread, then marks as read? Maybe with something like this: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863 https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/3863

codedivine 17y ago

Why not make it real email than implementing half-baked solutions?

lyime 17y ago
That's because it will most likely result in more spam. If you give write access to the inbox then app developers will go crazy. Notifications from apps (bottom right) are already starting to fill my stream.

acg 17y ago

Speaking from experience I really don't want more FB mail: the interface terrible. Is anyone convinced on using FB for anything apart from looking at your mate's holiday photos and keeping in touch?

dmoho 17y ago
I try not to send messages through FB because it seems that they never delete anything.

Cantdog 17y ago

Buying FriendFeed just got a bit more interesting. Getting Paul Buchheit is a huge score if Facebook is going to focus on building a full featured mail system. My uneducated guess would be that ads on gmail don't perform all that well, but if facebook could figure out how to monetize messaging that would be huge.

jgilliam 17y ago

The fact that this API is one-way really highlights the difference between Facebook and Twitter. It's one-way because Facebook has to be worried about spam since anyone can send a message to anyone else. Twitter doesn't have this issue because you have to opt-in before you ever receive a message from someone.