Mind The “actions” Param For Facebook Graph API Posts

Recently I noticed that posts to facebook that I make through my tool (welshare) appear collapsed, with a weirdly big logo, as if it was posted to the app page, rather than through that app (indicated by a small icon) – see screenshot. I immediately reported a bug to facebook, but after I provided the screenshot there was no further action from their side. Then I realized my tweetdeck posts don’t behave the same way. I tried hootsuite – same as tweetdeck – they appear properly in the stream, and without any indication of the source in the timeline.

The reason appeared to be simple to fix, but weird. I’ve been sending the post with the “actions” parameter. That means I had an extra link after “comment” and “like”. It was “share” for links (facebook didn’t have it for 3rd-party links before) and “@username on welshare” for text messages. It appears that the post is treated very differently if it contains this parameter. Unfortunately, currently the same behaviour is seen for links and videos, although they don’t contain that param.

I hope facebook fixes it, but before that – don’t send that parameter. Another thing they might want to fix: the timeline isn’t showing an icon for the app. This is not necessarily a problem, but indicating the source might be good.

Recently I noticed that posts to facebook that I make through my tool (welshare) appear collapsed, with a weirdly big logo, as if it was posted to the app page, rather than through that app (indicated by a small icon) – see screenshot. I immediately reported a bug to facebook, but after I provided the screenshot there was no further action from their side. Then I realized my tweetdeck posts don’t behave the same way. I tried hootsuite – same as tweetdeck – they appear properly in the stream, and without any indication of the source in the timeline.

The reason appeared to be simple to fix, but weird. I’ve been sending the post with the “actions” parameter. That means I had an extra link after “comment” and “like”. It was “share” for links (facebook didn’t have it for 3rd-party links before) and “@username on welshare” for text messages. It appears that the post is treated very differently if it contains this parameter. Unfortunately, currently the same behaviour is seen for links and videos, although they don’t contain that param.

I hope facebook fixes it, but before that – don’t send that parameter. Another thing they might want to fix: the timeline isn’t showing an icon for the app. This is not necessarily a problem, but indicating the source might be good.