Data Availability FAQ

Dated August 11, 2008

What is Data Availability?
What is Data Portability?
What information can I get for my site?
How do I sign up?
Do I have to put anything special on my site to use this?
I have APIs that let people access my site's information.
If I use MySpace data on my site, can I then share it with my APIs?
How do my users know they are getting information from MySpace?
How do I authenticate my users to MySpace?
I have a mobile application or a desktop client. Can I use DA?
What are the rules and guidelines for DA?
What if I run into problems or have more questions?
What is the caching policy for Data Availability?
What data can be stored permanently?
What do I have to do when the link is broken by the MySpace member to my site?

What is Data Availability?
Data Availability (DA) is a new MDP feature which allows MySpace users to grant permissions to other external websites in order to display information available from a user's profile - such as user pictures, status, etc.

What is Data Portability?
Data Portability is a new term which is widely used all over the internet right now with a variety of different definitions- depending on who is asked. All definitions ultimately lead to the same basic concept of taking information from one site and bringing it to another. MySpace is actively involved in investigating the feasibility of Data Portability.

What information can I get for my site?
We've created some initial information which is available [here]. It includes basic information to guide you through the new process in order to make your data accessible to external sites as well as a table of all available information using DA.

How do I sign up?
If you have already signed up to be a MySpace Developer, you don't need to do a thing! Simply go to your app details page, and check the Use External Sites checkbox. This reveals the External URL and External Domain fields described in the documentation above.

If you have never developed an application for MySpace before, you will be asked to fill out the developer sign-up form before proceeding you can Build your application. Developer registrations are processed within 24 to 48 hours.

Do I have to put anything special on my site to use this?
Yes. You must adhere to both the MySpace Developer Platform TOU and Application Guidelines, as well DA TOU. Failure to comply with these guidelines may result in your application being suspended or disabled.
Specifically you must:

• Include the following icon (image/link) on your site where a user would click to enable DA. Upon clicking to enable, they will be redirected to a MySpace page requiring verification that the user wishes to grant permissions.
• Should you use someone's userpic on your site, it must be linked to the user's profile everywhere it is displayed.

I have APIs that let people access my site's information.
If I use MySpace data on my site, can I then share it with my APIs?
No. Your site may never serve as a proxy for any MySpace data. Users must grant explicit permission for every site that wishes to display their information, and that site must then request the data.

How do my users know they are getting information from MySpace?
Every external site that uses DA must include the following icon (image/link) on their site where a user would click to enable DA. Upon clicking to enable, they’ll be redirected to a MySpace page requiring verification that the user wishes to grant permissions.

How do I authenticate my users to MySpace?
You must use OAuth for authentication.

I have a mobile application or a desktop client. Can I use DA?
Yes, but you must still follow the same restrictions as a website.

What are the rules and guidelines for Data Availability (DA)?
Please read the Off-Site Service Developer Addendum to MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement. All uses of DA are subject to this agreement, the Developer Addendum to MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement and Off-Site Service Guidelines.

What if I run into problems or have more questions?
We have answers! Check out our DA forums on the MySpace Development Platform and ask away.

What is the caching policy for Data Availability?
All of the data available through the Data Availability REST APIs can be cached for 24 hours. When the 24 hour period expires, you will have to do another API request to refresh the data. This will help ensure that you don't have stale content. As a best practice, we encourage you to check back frequently to ensure that the data you are leveraging is up-to-date. Please see: http://developer.myspace.com/community/myspace/da.aspx for more information on what data is available for caching.

What data can be stored permanently?
Please check: http://developer.myspace.com/community/myspace/da.aspx for the most up-to-date list of what data can be permanently stored. Certain data will be able for scoping by default for storage even after the caching policy expires, while other pieces of data require that the member expressly opt-in so that data may be shared. Even though this subset of data can be stored, you should still check back and refresh your own cache or storage to ensure that you are not serving stale content to your members. While this might not make sense for something like "date of birth", it would for something like the profile picture.

What do I have to do when the link is broken by the MySpace member to my site?
For all data designated as part of the core portable profile and able to be stored, you can retain that data even after the link is broken. For all other data, you must remove the data the next time you make a request to refresh your cache.