I run a PHP script that interfaces with the Twitter API off my website. It is a trivia bot that, at defined intervals, sends calls to the API to send and receive tweets (send the trivia question and choices, get the replies that are answers, send the correct answer, etc.). To automate, I use the meta refresh tag. So to operate the bot, I open the script on my browser and just leave it alone, to refresh and run the script repeatedly.
This works as it should, except after 90 minutes of continuous use, it triggered a blacklisting of my IP by my webhost. The tech support recommended "refreshing less often," which would affect the intended product. I could not get any information about what the limits are before a blacklisting is triggered.
Clearly reloading the web page is a no-no by this provider, but short of changing providers, are there alternatives to meta refresh (or really, ANY refreshing of the page) that would still allow for repeated, automated calls to the Twitter API?