April 29, 2008

To understand truthboxes you need to think like a programmer. I will attempt to explain how programmers think in plain English.

A truthbox programmer needs to use an “API” to write an app for Myspace. Truthbox is an app (application) for Myspace. The web browser you’re using right now is an application too, right now it’s using an API to talk to your computer’s operating system. An operating system is Windows, Linux, or whatever you have.

An easier way to think of an API: It’s like the rules of a game you like to play. For a programmer to make an app for Myspace, he or she must follow the rules of the game. These rules help the programmer get information into and out of Myspace, to make the program do fun stuff.

So the first thing we need to know before we jump to any conclusions, before we go any further in this investigation: Does a programmer using the Myspace API have access to the identity of a user of an application? In other words: Does the programmer have access to any data that might reveal who the person is leaving you “anonymous” messages? I don’t know for sure, but I would say: Yes, that is very likely!

Myspace is a social network. It seems to me common sense: Applications for social networks need to be social enough to share information about the people using them.

But there’s no point guessing, right? We can find the answer because Myspace publishes the API specification (rules) for us to write Myspace apps. If the API wasn’t published we couldn’t make apps for Myspace.

So to find the answer we need to study the API.

Update: I just found this, Myspace architect explains app strategy:

Apps will never have access to information that cannot be found on any member’s profile page.

That doesn’t rule out display names though, or IPs.