Is it OK to add user types to topics just so freebase suggest works better on my own site?

  1.  
    1. I'm building an application which auto-completes against Freebase (using Freebase Suggest) to allow users to pick species (well, things typed with /biology/organism_classification). I want to encourage my users to select species that have already been selected on my site - so ideally I want already selected species to show up higher on the freebase suggest list. I've found a potential solution: I've invented my own user type ( http://www.freebase.com/view/user/simonw/default_domain/wlny_known_species ) which I could apply to a species the first time a user on my own site selects them. I believe (though I have not yet confirmed) that this will allow me to bias the freebase suggest search results using a query that looks like this: $('input.species-select').suggest({ "type": ["/biology/organism_classification", "/user/simonw/default_domain/wlny_known_species"], }) My question then: is this an appropriate way of using user types? I'm concerned that this kind of usage "pollutes" Freebase - is it OK for me to be doing this kind of thing? Or is there a better, different approach to achieving what I want to do.
      1. Good question Simon.

        It seems like a sensible technical solution.  I'd guess as long as you attribute freebase in the external website, you're probably OK IMHO.  We've already got the likes of juggleplopquiz and popstra which seem to be existing schemas orientated solely for use in external websites.

        I don't think it would pollute freebase any more than the myriad of abandoned and underdeveloped schemas that lurk around - the freebase website is fairly adept at handling these.  Hence it has a clean 'view' page, and a second 'edit'/'add data' (aka 'geek') page for each and every topic on the freebase website.

        Also do check the TOS, if you haven't already.

        Iain 

      2. I'm fine with it, FWIW.  If Juggle.com can type a squillion things as juggle for their app, I don't see why you can't do this :)

    Discussion is posted in:

    Think this discussion also relates to something else? Cross-post it by adding a new discussion area:

Search Discussions

Related Discussions