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Workaround for Twitter @Replies Issue

This version was saved 14 years, 10 months ago View current version     Page history
Saved by Shoq Value
on May 14, 2009 at 5:25:51 pm
 

 

 

NOTE:  @Twitter co-founder Evan Williams recently posted that something in this article is "wrong."  He offered no details in his Tweet.  I will fix anything he corrects, when and if he does.  This article was distilled from not less than three tech articles on the subject, and several tests, but if something is wrong, I will be eager to fix it. The purpose of this article was not to explain all the nuances of the issue, or their motives in making the change. Merely what people could do in the short term to ensure their tweets were seen by all of their followers.

Until someone shows me otherwise, I assume the procedures suggested herein will work more or less as advertised, but please follow me for changes, when they are made.

 

For recent updates on this issue, follow twitter.com/shoq

 

Background

 

For reasons known only to Twitter's marketing people or technical nerds, their handling off @replynames is in transition from something most people understood, to a new and convoluted process that has confused and annoyed almost everyone.

 

If you really need to real the whole weird backstory, as written by geeks who will confuse you with pointless jargon and concepts you have no use for, just start here: http://bit.ly/3cVkA

 

If, however, you're a normal person who enjoys simple language, and because all of this will probably change before you've digested this page, then...

 

as of right now, all you really need to know is this: 

 

Twitter has changed how @replies are handled.  By default, when you click any kind of "reply" button (on the Twitter web site, in Tweetdeck, and in some other client program), your tweet will only be seen by the person that you @replied to, and only those of your followers who also already follow that person. This really upsets many of us who want--or need--to discover new people by watching who our friends engage by @replying to them.

 

To Illustrate:   Should  @whitehouse reply to @northkorea with a message like "We're invading your weird little country at dawn," the only people who will see that reply are @northkorea and anyone following that name.  Thus, even though you follow @whitehouse, you could miss their reply message if you never knew there was a @northkorea to follow in the first place. 

 

See the problem? This new and misguided policy removes the wonderful transparency that made Twitter a great place to discover people and ideas, and it's completely contrary to the spirit of most forms of social networking.  Twitter has suggested they will find a way to fix this.

 

But until they do, here is a very-less-than-ideal...

 

Workaround

 

     If you want your followers to see your reply to someone, even if they don't follow that person:

 

  • WITHOUT USING ANY REPLY BUTTON:  Simply type their @replyname at the beginning of your tweet.

    There are two main downsides to this:

     

    • You can't easily copy the name into the input field using a single click (annoying for heavy tweeters).

       

    • The conversation is not a true "reply thread," so people who view your tweet: 1) cannot trace back to the tweet you were replying to, and 2) they cannot "View Conversation" using search.twitter.com Since many people do both to follow the context of a tweet, this is major PITA (click link, or just ask your granny what that means). 

       

  • USING ANY REPLY BUTTON:  Just use the button to copy the name into the input box. But train yourself to add a period or exclamation point in front of the @reply name. It's really annoying to have to do, and it uses up one more precious character, but after a few times, it becomes a habit.

                                    Example:   

!@shoqsmom Because I placed an exclamation point before your @name, all of my followers

will see this tweet, even if they don't follow you.

 

  • NOTE1:  While this makes it easy to reply, and forces the tweet to all your followers, the tweet will NOT be threaded (as discussed above). 

  • NOTE2: Simply prepending "RT" to front of your tweets has the same effect as an exclamation point.  It will be seen by all of your followers--assuming you actually wanted to retweet (copy).

 

     If you only want those also following a @name to see your reply to them, simply use any standard Reply button function.

 

 

Protest This Bizarre Policy Change at Twitter

 

By tweeting your displeasure with something like this (copy at will). 

DEAR @TWITTER:  PLEASE RESTORE TRANSPARENT @REPLIES POLICY  cc: @ev @biz #fixReplies  Info@  http://bit.ly/Replies

(The CCs are Twitter executives, and the petition #hashtag for protesting this policy change.)

 

 

If you want to sign a more formal petition, here's one. (There are others.)

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/fixreplies

 

 

For News and Updates On The Issue

 

 

  • Follow Twitter's blog for the latest smoke screens, reversals, or policy changes at  http://blog.twitter.com/

     

  • Follow the #fixreplies hashtag for tweets from all the Twittervillians who want this problem fixed..NOW.

 

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