Twitter has something of a reputation as a haven for trolls. The social media platform has also been heavily criticized over the years for the way it deals with these trolls, and other people who harass and hate on individuals. But things are improving.
Since the start of 2017, Twitter has made a concerted effort to deal with these issues. Through policy updates, rule changes, and stricter enforcement, the company has tried to build a safer Twitter. And it's now tackling the problems surrounding reported tweets.
Twitter Shames the Rulebreakers
As explained on the Twitter Blog, Twitter is changing the way it deals with reported tweets. First, reported tweets will be flagged as such, offering more transparency. Secondly, the people who report the tweets will no longer see them by default.
From now on, when a reported tweet is removed for breaking the rules, it will be replaced by a notice stating, "This tweet is no longer available because it violated the Twitter Rules." There will be a link to the Twitter Rules, so there's no excuse not to read them.
Even before a tweet is removed because Twitter has decided it breaks the rules, the person who reported it will no longer see it. Instead, they'll see the notice, "You reported this tweet." They can then click "View" if they want to see it again for any reason.
The first notice will be displayed for 14 days, and act as a punishment in its own right. Twitter obviously hopes people will be shamed into stopping behaving badly. These changes will be rolling out to both Twitter.com and the Twitter app in the coming weeks.
Twitter Trolls Take Notice
In hindsight these changes seem rather obvious. Making it clear a tweet has been deleted for breaking the Twitter Rules is a no-brainer. And hiding reported tweets from view by default seems like pure common sense. Let's just hope the trolls take notice.
None of these changes is likely to salvage Twitter's tarnished reputation. Because, unfortunately, most people find Twitter confusing. Thankfully, however, we're here to help you learn how to use Twitter like a pro. So why not give it a go?
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