Great stuff, Chris. Thanks for taking the time to mock it up.

On Thu, Apr 16, 2009 at 12:03, Chris Messina <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> I would definitely support greater disclosure here, but would avoid
> the checkbox model of authorizing different levels of access (http://
> www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/2601626420/sizes/o/).
>
> Instead, you should allow the application developer to pick the
> appropriate API access level it needs (read only, posting, friending,
> direct messaging, all access) and then provide that language to the
> user upon authorization.
>
> The current language "to access and update your data on Twitter" is so
> vague as to be meaningless.
>
> Stronger language will potentially scare off people (especially
> initially when they're not used to this flow) but that's the point.
> Previously people were handing over their credentials, having these
> bad experiences, and then having no recourse to disable that app from
> having access (unless they changed their password — thereby breaking
> every other app to which they'd supplied their credentials).
>
> To Chad's point about "buyer beware" — that's not good enough here.
> The risk you run with OAuth is that folks operating in a gray area
> will simply say "well, we don't take user's passwords anymore" and
> then go do something shady like auto-friend their account without
> permission. That's breaking the social contract and Twitter needs to
> step-in to make that procedure transparent, or else it'll negatively
> impact other apps built on Twitter's API.
>
> In other words, it's up to Twitter to ensure that people can TRUST the
> authorization screen — and that nothing evil will happen if they hit
> "allow" — unless they specifically authorize someone to have all
> access.
>
> "Buyer beware" also suggests that Twitter has an obligation to inform
> the buyer, since there are few other mechanisms — especially when apps
> post unedited self-promotional tweets through user accounts — to help
> the buyer make an informed decision.
>
> I see two things that Twitter could do right away, one which I presume
> they're already working on:
>
> 1. create a directory of known/good apps and promote the ones that are
> "safe" (see Facebook)
> 2. layer in social awareness into the authorization screen so people
> have a better sense whether to trust an app
>
> Here's my mockup for #2:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/3448360090/
>
> Also, other examples of authorization screens to consider:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/3295727080/sizes/o/ (note the
> "...Flickr partner" nomenclature)
> http://www.flickr.com/photos/factoryjoe/2707598617/sizes/o/
>
> If you want more example, I've collected some:
>
> http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=authorization&w=25419820%40N00
>
> Chris
>
> On Apr 16, 8:53 am, Matt Sanford <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Hi there,
>>
>>      My initial wording for the pages was much stronger and the
>> biggest complaint during testing was that it scared people off … so I
>> obviously side with stronger language. In the light of how people are
>> using OAuth it seems like we need something more. I'll talk with the
>> product folks and see if we can't find some middle-ground. Thanks for
>> the feedback everybody.
>>
>> Thanks;
>>    — Matt Sanford / @mzsanford
>>
>> On Apr 15, 2009, at 08:27 PM, Rod Begbie wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> > There are two separate questions here:
>>
>> > 1) Should Twitter make the language on the Authorization page
>> > clearer as to exactly what an app can do if you click "Approve".
>> > This gives the user some amount of a hint at what can happen.  I'd
>> > push wholeheartedly for this, as the current distinction of "read
>> > and update" versus "read" are easy to miss.
>>
>> > 2) Should Twitter introduce a policy/TOS document on expected
>> > behaviour for apps?  I'd hope for at least a wiki page that can be
>> > pointed to as "Things that will get your app deauthorized".  This is
>> > a policy/community change request, not a code one.
>>
>> > Rod.
>>
>> > On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 8:09 PM, Chad Etzel <[email protected]>
>> > wrote:
>>
>> > Again with the "OAuth does not prevent a bad app form being bad"
>> > point.  All this same stuff can be done with Basic Auth apps.  The
>> > point here is that users can prevent further badness by going to their
>> > "Connections" tab and revoking the access tokens.
>>
>> > No, this doesn't solve the "what happens when I initially authorize
>> > this app" problem.
>>
>> > imho, "buyer beware".
>> > -Chad
>>
>> > On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 10:51 PM, Abraham Williams
>> > <[email protected]> wrote:
>> > > My thoughts are not having a good enough notice is bad form and
>> > users will
>> > > start gravitating away from apps with bad form and better
>> > competition comes
>> > > out.
>>
>> > > But yes. I think it would be good for Twitter to make an official
>> > statement
>> > > and include it somewhere that that sort of misdirection is frowned
>> > upon.
>>
>> > > Abraham
>>
>> > > On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 21:21, Cameron Kaiser
>> > <[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>> > >> > From a user expectatins perspective, I'd suggest that the
>> > Twitter OAuth
>> > >> > dialog also add a bullet list of what "access and update your
>> > data"
>> > >> > means
>> > >> > (like Flickr does) to prevent further surprises.  I'm not sure
>> > users
>> > >> > appreciate that an authorised app can:
>>
>> > >> > * Post and delete tweets in your name
>> > >> > * Add and remove users you are following
>> > >> > * Block and unblock users
>> > >> > * Change your name, email address, location, avatar or
>> > description
>>
>> > >> > Thoughts?
>>
>> > >> This is an excellent point.
>>
>> > >> --
>> > >> ------------------------------------ personal:
>> > >>http://www.cameronkaiser.com/--
>> > >>  Cameron Kaiser * Floodgap Systems *www.floodgap.com*
>> > >> [email protected]
>> > >> -- Sarcasm is a spiritual gift. -- Paul Austin
>> > >> --------------------------------
>>
>> > > --
>> > > Abraham Williams |http://the.hackerconundrum.com
>> > > Hacker |http://abrah.am|http://twitter.com/abraham
>> > > Web608 | Community Evangelist |http://web608.org
>> > > This email is: [ ] blogable [x] ask first [ ] private.
>> > > Sent from Madison, Wisconsin, United States
>>
>> > --
>> > :: Rod Begbie ::http://groovymother.com/::
>



-- 
Alex Payne - API Lead, Twitter, Inc.
http://twitter.com/al3x

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