Like many multitude , I spend too much time on Twitter , the “ microblog ” social meshing that permit you have snippets of conversations and post short insights ( or , more likely , alleged gag ) that can be seen by everyone else on the web .
Before this year ’s U.S. election , Twitter was generally an interesting and often fun position to be for most people , and a dreaded cataclysm and nearly unuseable for some . The election accelerated that , no matter which nominee you backed ( if any ) .
For those who become the short - term or longsighted - term targets of onset by group of people for whatever reason , Twitter has n’t previously offered enough putz to beat back molestation and contumely . Many targets have shutter their accounts , while others have to work exceptionally hard to have any material interaction via Twitter at all .
I and many others have criticized Twitter for lagging in improving discussion on its own , such as place maltreatment and blocking it and its perpetrators without requiring others to intervene , and ramp up advanced tools that would allow people opt to filter and block depicted object and people . Twitter ’s ill-usage coverage tools and response have better gradually , but still seemed to fall down far behind the society ’s stated guidelines for appropriate interaction .
That vary passably recently , as Twitter roll out a variety of improvements that , taken together , can keep the service usable if you become a lineal or incidental subject of attack . you could also filter out word of topics you ’re not interested in , like sports events or specific team . ( Twitter could do much more to categorise message , such as using machine learning to tag tweet by subject or add keywords , but so far it ’s resisted that . )
There ’s a tendency for media to accuse people of living in echo chamber composed only of comparable - apt people , reinforcing sometimes poorly - conceive notions about others . Twitter ’s filtering and block prick can meet into that . But there ’s an obvious difference between being disclose to ideas that differ from ones you hold and being being bombarded by offensive or abusive statements and paradigm .
Here ’s some advice about how to configure and use Twitter ’s young tools , including one roll up out originally this year , both to fight back abuse and to keep your timeline more to your liking .
Quality is job what?
It ’s obvious that Twitter analyse all the public messages that go across across its scheme , because it offer data that derive from that analysis . I ’ve found it frustrating that it did n’t turn its advertizing analytics puppet towards help people have a dependable experience .
The Quality Filter gets rid of tweets that have footling reason to exist .
to begin with this yr , it finally did by roll out a Quality Filter to all its users , which can be turn on or off via Twitter.com in your configurations in the Notifications segment . In the nomadic app , tap the Notifications view , tap the gear wheel icon , and then coiffure the Quality Filter pick . ( This feature come along months sooner to verified users , those citizenry who have choke through Twitter ’s murky unconscious process of proving that they ’re both who they say they are and have a ground to protect themselves against impersonation . )
Twitter explainsthe Quality Filter uses “ signal , ” and mentions duplicate and automated messages . But it also clear removes tweet that @-mention you from a combination of newly produce accounts , ones that have few followers , and ones @-mention a heap of people over short period . Since enabling that feature film , I ’ve figure a lot fewer drivel tweets in my mentions from accounts design to attack in bulk , and some people I know who find much more maltreatment have see a step-down as well .
Twitter could go further , offering extra checkboxes to murder or reduce the frequency of tweets that fall into different categories . Right now , if you follow anyone on Twitter , you see all their message and retweets in your independent timeline you’re able to incapacitate construe another substance abuser ’s retweets on an account - by - invoice basis .
Mute and block
Tweetbot has long had a filter that allows specific muting by account , hashtag , and keyword , including conquer notifications and hunting results .
I ’ve used the third - political party Twitter clientTweetbotfor a few year formacOSandiOS , and its developers total time filter to mute accounts , keywords , and hashtags . The filters synchronize across all your connected accounts , too . you may mute for periods of time ( from a day to a calendar month ) or forever .
The prescribed Twitter app ’s mute filters are on / off with no timing options . twelvemonth ago , Twitter tally a mute option to contrast with block . When you block another user , that exploiter ca n’t follow you , like or retweet your messages , or see your tweets when they ’re logged into the account you blank out .
account that you damp are incognizant they ’re damp . They can still play along you and engage in other behavior , but you ’re not notified of any of it and they do n’t show up in your timeline . Many masses prefer to tone down as a “ diffuse stop , ” because a even cylinder block can be noticed , and sometimes causes another party to escalate an attack or enlist other people .
I ’m absolutely positive that some people who follow me ( perhaps many ! ) have muted me because of my volume of tweeting , but some have told me they stick me in a Twitter inclination , and they want the power to read , direct message me , and have other interactions . I do n’t take it the wrong means .
Twitter recently added keyword muting , which includes hashtags and history that look in your timeline .
Twitter just addedkeyword - base muting , which you could find in the official Twitter mobile app in the Notifications tab by clicking the gear picture , then tap subdued Words . you’re able to mute words , phrases , hashtags ( by using a # in front ) , and acknowledgment of an account by include the @. However , if someone @-mentions you , you ’ll still see that response , unlike damp an bill straightaway .
This has a lot of benign purposes . Some mass are genial enough to hashtag topics , like an Apple keynote or an # eagles football plot . You might also conform to multitude who are involved with estimation and subjects you find upsetting without finding the person loathsome , and you could now more easy damp those subjects .
chirrup needs to combine keywords and notifications , which is available in Tweetbot , so that you may pair a keyword with suppressing mentions . Many hate groups and abusive movements rally around specific words and hashtags as a direction to distinguish each other on Twitter , make it well-off to spot them out of your timeline .
There ’s one more muting options that ’s just amazing , and I ’ve been go for for for many years . you could now mute a “ conversation . ” Conversations are threaded replies in which you ’re mentioned . Series of tweet with many handle in them are often call “ canoes , ” and mass talk about “ gravel off the canoe . ” Now they can .
While consider a tweet at Twitter ’s site or in its mobile app , pink the down - pointer ( mobile ) or three dots / ellipsis ( WWW ) , and then select Mute This Conversation . It does n’t remove your grip from subsequent replies , but you ’re not send word of them . This let you declutter your notifications , even though the tweets will still come out in your timeline .
It ’s indecipherable whether Twitter will let third - company developer access keyword - based tweets or contribute an choice for conversation muting .
There ’s one other option you might set associate to media . While it ’s not about dampen , Twitter does use algorithms and substance abuser report preferences to mark images and TV as check “ sensitive ” content . This can often be explicit or disturbing . In Twitter ’s main explanation context , you’re able to ensure the box for “ Do not inform me before present media that may be sensitive ” is unchecked , and then you ’re warned when using the website and its clients .
Report abusive behavior
Twitter has taken a lot of criticism in how well it monitors and answer to misdemeanor of its guideline . While not all dysphemistic speech is abusive , and not everyone agrees on all the aspects of what define abuse and molestation , Twitter doesdefine this in specific termsin its “ rules . ”
However , before a few days ago , the troupe did n’t offer a way to report accounts and tweets for violations of those rule that matched up closely enough . This go away out a mess of what is wide regarded as hate speech in law and practice , and which Twitter understandably defines as out of saltation in its rule .
The revised reporting instrument give more options to report for these better delineate class . You ca n’t report tweet from third - party Twitter apps , although you may report account for junk e-mail . ( Twitter spam is persistent , but it seems to be to be at a very low ebb lately . )
Using the web site or official Twitter mobile app , you’re able to useone of a variety of waysto report a tweet , story , or even a Moment .
After announcing these changes , Twitter temporarily suspended and for good banned a phone number of problematic accounts that had been wide reported in the past and had rest active . ( Suspending accounts have all their tweets remove from Twitter and are present with tweets that violate policy and offered the chance to erase them so as to regain history access code . If the write up bearer turn down to do so , the account remains unavailable along with the associated tweets . )
Lock your account
The final mode to get some muted on Twitter is toprotect your account . This allows anyone currently follow you to persist in to see your tweets , but those messages ca n’t be retweeted and new user have to request to follow you . If you also want to not see notifications from people who do n’t follow you , in the same lieu you activate the Quality Filter , you could select to only see mentions from people you surveil .
Some hoi polloi opt to put away their Twitter history during gamy level of attacks , making themselves effectively and temporarily invisible . It ’s sometimes necessary for one ’s own mental well - being .
Twitter ’s movement are still timid of what ’s in full needed , but they ’s another step ahead in create a more civil space with parameter you could control . All of these are voluntary : you do n’t have deaf-mute or impede other accounts or report behavior against you or other citizenry . For those who need the restraint , improvements are welcome .
