Bare "@" handles in toots are still creating twitter mentions

[foozmeat]

No description provided.

[ldexterldesign]

https://mastodon.social/@ldexterldesign/100503735630285274 > https://twitter.com/ldexterldesign/status/1026474242626351104

Has your fix been deployed?:

If yes, I don't think it worked

If no, which I'll assume, then no reply necessary

Hope this is useful

Regards

[foozmeat]

@ldexterldesign I believe the output is correct. When I open that twitter link those mastodon handles aren't recognized as twitter handles. Am I misunderstanding your report?

[ldexterldesign]

Thanks for reply

First, I know there are some issues around this:

Important Changes:

18/07/18: Moa can no longer create replies and mentions on twitter. Text of the form '@user@twitter.com' on Mastodon used to translate to '@user' on twitter but now it translates to just 'user'. This change was made in order to stay compliant with twitter's rules. - https://moa.party/

Second, to answer your question:

When I open that twitter link those mastodon handles aren't recognized as twitter handles

https://mastodon.social/@abc
https://twitter.com/ABC

Use cases

Mastodon

If @abc user exists then link to https://mastodon.social/@abc
If !@abc user exists then display "@abc" in plain text

Twitter

If @abc user exists then link to https://twitter.com/ABC
If !@abc user exists then display "@abc@mastodon.social" in plain text

This isn't what's happening in my use case

Let me know if you have any issues - happy to help

Hope this is clear and to hear back

Cheers

[ldexterldesign]

@abc sorry for noise!

[foozmeat]

You're asking me to replace handles with links? I can't use HTML so the links would be inline and on twitter they'll be replaced with t.co links further obscuring the meaning.

Would you provide a sample tweet and a sample toot and show how you would like it to appear once it's converted? Showing the whole message is really valuable. That's the best way for me to understand what you're wanting.

[ldexterldesign]

Sorry for not being clear enough in my previous message - it took me what seemed like ages to create that message in what I hoped would be a clear way but it wasn't

I just created the following Mastodon > Twitter post[t] and now, since the @Dashlane user doesn't exist on Mastodon and you've fixed the bug[g], I'm now clear(er) on the expected behaviour

You're asking me to replace handles with links?

No, when I say "link" I mean render/resolve the handle

I now realise "@abc" in plain text isn't possible because both Mastodon and Twitter will render/resolve that (I was under some weird illusion that in Mastodon a handle wouldn't render unless you interacted with the auto-complete/suggestion)

I now also realise why my whole suggestion isn't possible and why you're dropping the "@" prefix, because if you include it then Twitter will link it and mention/notify the user, which is what we want but not what Twitter want based on their terms, correct?:

If yes, can you go into any more detail on what Twitter have said or is this just you conforming to their terms

If no, I'd love to be clearer on this issue

Related: #49

Regards

[g] #52 (comment)
[t] https://mastodon.social/@ldexterldesign/100510204127609169 > https://twitter.com/ldexterldesign/status/1026888408289796097

[ldexterldesign]

BUMP

[foozmeat]

Ok, to answer your last question I removed the '@' in twitter handles because another cross-posting service got banned from twitter for doing that and so I followed suit to avoid a problem. So essentially what your asking for isn't possible

HOWEVER

I modified the behavior in such a way that if you wanted to run your own copy of Moa yourself you could get the twitter mentions but you'll just be risking your own app getting banned. So, there is a way for you to get what you want but you'll have to run Moa yourself.

[ldexterldesign]

Perfect[t] good call

I need to fix my (broken) Python env' but before I do please elaborate on the following?:

Moa is a flask app and can be run with python or proxied behind something like nginx/passenger[r]

• What infrastructure do I need - can I run this locally or do I need to host it at a domain?
• Assuming nginx and/or passenger are alternatives to vanilla Python install, why would one opt to use these web servers?
• What do you think the likelihood is of Twitter banning a) the app' b) my account or c) both?

Sorry if these are obvious answers I'm a front-end person 😕

Hope to hear back

Cheers

[r] https://github.com/foozmeat/moa#install
[t] https://github.com/foozmeat/moa/blob/master/config.py.sample#L28

[ldexterldesign]

BUMP

[foozmeat]

You can run it locally but you'll need to have your machine on all the time so the worker can do its job. You don't need to run a web server - flask provides a built in server for development. I have no idea if twitter will ban your copy of moa.

If you have any more questions concerning running Moa please file a new issue so the docs can be improved.

[jackjamieson2]

Ok, to answer your last question I removed the '@' in twitter handles because another cross-posting service got banned from twitter for doing that and so I followed suit to avoid a problem.

@foozmeat, Sorry to excavate this thread, but I was wondering if you have any info about which of Twitter's policies that violates, or even just which service got in trouble. I haven't been able to find anything about this in Twitter's documentation, but maybe I've just overlooked it!

If you have a chance, thank you very much!

[foozmeat]

@jackjamieson2 I can't point you to a specific rule. The other cross-poster was this one

https://crossposter.masto.donte.com.br/

You can read about the block at https://masto.donte.com.br/@crossposter/100479477531222745

[ldexterldesign]

Hi @foozmeat,

This begs the question, have you considered adding a feature where users can add their own API key?

Yours hopefully

[foozmeat]

No I haven't. I won't host a service that uses anyone else's application keys. My sense is this would be in violation of twitter's application rules. There would be more than one "app" at the same URL.

[jackjamieson2]

Thanks @foozmeat, that's unfortunate but the extra info helps!

[jgmac1106]

As an FYI my Twitter account was flagged because I was using a third party client to @ mention people who do not follow me.

I was told I violated Twitter's anti-harassment policy.

(I was at the Major League All Star Home Run Derby and Live Tweeting the event)

The access to the app was never restored. I was told I could file a second appeal. I never did

[ldexterldesign]

Hi @jgmac1106,

Thanks for reply

What was/is the third party client?

What's the status of your Twitter account?

If true, this suggests self hosting moa could still be risky

Hope to hear back

Cheers