Data Access API Call

UserService.login

Registers and/or logs in a single user and returns a ticket for future ajax calls.

The user login API call both registers a user and allows them access to features based on their identity ( i.e. the call determines a user's access to content editing and moderation tools ). This login call provides a seamless, no-registration-required experience for your users.

When Wetpaint created your developer key, we also created a private user namespace with which your users will be associated. Along with your developer key, we issued a secret key. Because this secret key allows you to authenticate users and access sensitive data, it should not be made available to the public ( e.g. via browser-side code ).

All Ajax calls made to the Wetpaint servers require a ticket ( basically an active user session ), retrieved via a login call. If the user hasn't been registered before, the login call will automatically register the user in your namespace. Otherwise, we will login the user, updating the user's records if anything in the login request is different from what we already have saved.

The login call returns XML containing a ticket that you should associate with the user's session on your side.

Save The Ticket

Once you have received a ticket for a user, any ajax calls you make on behalf of that user should include it. Typically, the ticket is stored in a cookie or session variable for this purpose. The javascript client application allows users to take actions that require identification and authentication, and thus requires the ticket (which you will set in step 3 of this guide).

User Roles

A user's role determines what actions that user can perform. The roles are registered, moderator, and banned. For example, both registered users and moderators can edit pages, while banned users cannot.


Once logged in, you will use use our data-access API to retrieve information about your users and their activity--including edit histories of content, their reputation, and statistical data. We explain this process beginning with the next step.

Next -> Step 2: Request Javascript Client Application