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Hypermass Bot

Hypermass Bot is an account we run ourselves. It publishes public data from third party sources. We endeavour to get the licencing and attribution right for each source and to make sure the data is useful.

Hypermass bot's organisation page is here.

Why it exists​

A data platform with nothing on it is hard to evaluate. The bot exists so that:

  • Anyone can subscribe to a real stream and see how publishing and subscribing behave, without signing up for anything or waiting for a publisher to appear.
  • The client libraries and the CLI have live streams to be tested against.
  • Useful open data that is currently only available by polling an API becomes available as a subscription instead.

It is not a mirror of the open web, and it is not trying to be comprehensive. It carries a small number of sources that are useful, well maintained, openly licensed, and change often enough to be interesting.

What it currently publishes​

A full list can be found on the organisation page. In short we publish the following:

  • GDACs - global disaster information
  • SOHO and SDO - satellite images of the sun
  • UK goverment roles data - information about the positions of ministers

How it behaves​

The bot is an ordinary Hypermass account using the ordinary publishing path — there is no special case for it in the platform. That means the streams behave exactly like anyone else's:

  • Payloads are immutable once published.
  • Subscribers receive new payloads over websockets in near-real-time.
  • Everything is subject to the same validation as any other stream.

Licensing and attribution​

The bot republishes data it does not own. Each source keeps its own licence and terms, and those terms travel with the data.

If you are planning to build on one of these streams, check the upstream source's terms first – every hypermass listing has a license tab (e.g. here).

Is this your data?​

If the bot is publishing a source you run, we would much rather you published it yourself, and we're happy to help.

To claim a stream, come and say hello on Discord. We will move the stream to your own organisation page, so it carries your name and you control it from then on — subscribers stay subscribed and nothing breaks for them. If the stream is substantially different from what you publish we can also provide code to get you started, to ensure continuity for subscribers.

Suggesting a source​

Open data that is public, openly licensed, and updates regularly is a good fit. Ask on Discord.