There is an ongoing discussion on it at Get Satisfaction here.
When is your website, internet or internet application providers Terms of Service not a term of their allowing you to use their service?
When its Twitter.
Twitter, that awesome internet application gone haywire, has a TOS page here. A link to it is at the bottom right of EVERY Twitter page (Its nestled between Jobs and Privacy).
Twitter, in their unenforced TOS, states -
Terms of Service
By using the Twitter.com web site, a service of Twitter, Inc., you are agreeing to be bound by the following terms and conditions (”Terms of Use”).
Basic Terms
- You must be 13 years or older to use this site.
- You are responsible for any activity that occurs under your screen name.
- You are responsible for keeping your password secure.
- You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.
- You may not use the Twitter.com service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose. International users agree to comply with all local laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content.
- You are solely responsible for your conduct and any data, text, information, screen names, graphics, photos, profiles, audio and video clips, links (”Content”) that you submit, post, and display on the Twitter.com service.
- You must not modify, adapt or hack Twitter.com or modify another website so as to falsely imply that it is associated with Twitter.com .
- You must not create or submit unwanted email to any Twitter members (”Spam”).
- You must not transmit any worms or viruses or any code of a destructive nature.
- You must not, in the use of Twitter, violate any laws in your jurisdiction (including but not limited to copyright laws).
Violation of any of these agreements will result in the termination of your Twitter.com account. While Twitter.com prohibits such conduct and content on its site, you understand and agree that Twitter cannot be responsible for the Content posted on its web site and you nonetheless may be exposed to such materials and that you use the Twitter.com service at your own risk.
General Conditions
- We reserve the right to modify or terminate the Twitter.com service for any reason, without notice at any time.
- We reserve the right to alter these Terms of Use at any time. If the alterations constitute a material change to the Terms of Use, we will notify you via internet mail according to the preference expressed on your account. What constitutes a “material change” will be determined at our sole discretion, in good faith and using common sense and reasonable judgement.
- We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone for any reason at any time.
- We may, but have no obligation to, remove Content and accounts containing Content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Use.
- The Twitter service makes it possible to post images and text hosted on Twitter to outside websites. This use is accepted (and even encouraged!). However, pages on other websites which display data hosted on Twitter.com must provide a link back to Twitter.
- We reserve the right to reclaim usernames on behalf of businesses or individuals that hold legal claim or trademark on those usernames.
The rest of the TOS is online and in this footnote(2) . Yadda, yadda… pretty normal TOS.
The BOLD RED are the TOS Notice and Sanctions for violation. The BOLD BLUE are areas that have been breached, Twitter was told about the situations, and in which Twitter has DONE NOTHING to enforce their OWN TOS.
Here is how Twitter refuses to enforce its TOS -
In one case that happened recently, a user and her organization have been harassed and had libelous and defamatory comments made about it by another user. The victim, unable to find any way to contact Twitter about the TOS violations, ended up sending an email directly to Evan Williams at Twitter. The victim took detailed notes, favorited each of the comments made by her attacker and gave it all to Ev. To be kind, Ev’s response was short and sweet. In essence he told the victim to piss off and not bother him(3) . Twitter took no action, it is over as far as Twitter is concerned. Even a CLEAR TOS violation will not be enforced.
On the other hand Twitter will, and has in the past, blocked users from accessing Twitter after they have been blocked by other users. This is automatic and takes numbers. So, if you are being harassed by a user and you block them, it does nothing to Twitter. No flags go up, no bells sound. Nothing. When a large number of people block on user, as happened to @FoulBastard, then its automatic(4) . That user can login but cant post until Twitter looks in to see why he was blocked by so many.
According to goldtoe in the @FoulBastard issue -
When we learned that this was not a case of abuse, we replaced service(5) .
Twitter has NO WAY for you to report anything about TOS violations. At first I was at a loss as to why and I searched all over the Twitter site. Then it hit me. They have no way to report it because they DO NOT CARE about TOS violations.
I had originally written his post on April 23. At that time I was being harassed by another user and I decided to hold off on this post until today, after I was able to get a response from Twitter on my complaint.
On the 23rd I dutifully went to the help section and filled out a request. This user added me and I asked him not to. I asked him politely to unfollow me or I would block him. No sooner did I post that to him, he followed me with two more of his accounts. The user then, because I dared to ask him not to follow me, starts harassing me with his comments to and about me on Twitter. So, I wrote a very detailed message to Twitter. I detailed what the other user had done(6) and stated that it was blatant harassment and not only was this users main account doing it, but SEVERAL of his accounts were(7) .
Here is the response from Twitter(8) -
Hi,
It appears that user XXXX (9) has blocked you as well. However, you can “protect” your updates for a greater level of privacy. If you protect your updates, you will not appear in public searches, you will not appear on the Twitter public timeline, you will be accessible through some API or 3rd party application features that require authentication, and you will have to approve each follow request you receive. To protect your updates:
- Log in to Twitter
- Click Settings
- Check “Protect my Updates” at the bottom of the settings page
Note: if you’re worried about appearing in search results, another option is changing your user name and real name to something unrecognizable or unassociated with your real name.
Thanks!
Caroline
Now, when I read that I read – “So sorry. Tough luck” very much along the lines of what my friend was told earlier by Ev.
Here is my response, sent just prior to posting this -
Not once did I mention that I was in need of protection. I stated that @XXXX(9) had been harassing me. The fact that he has blocked me in return is a moot point. Is blocking the only recourse users have to being harassed? Do you not enforce your Terms of Service, are they for show only?
When users sign up for Twitter they agree to the Terms of Service(10) . The TOS are the laws that govern our use of and Twitters responsibility to its users. It does not matter who the users are that are abusing the system. The point is that Twitter either enforce the TOS or scrap them. Don’t allow users to have a false sense of security that the service will enforce the rules. Other Social Networking sites have a TOS that they enforce. FaceBook gets yelled at for enforcing theirs. Twitter is, contrary to their opinion, the cops. They are the ones who are here to ensure that the rules are followed, their rules. They are the ones who setup the framework ( TOS ).
How can I, in good conscience, tell my friends to use the service? I love Twitter, don’t get me wrong, but why should I use a service that does not appear to care for its users when its users ask for help?
- Along with her @MailOurMilitary business account. [↩]
- Twitters TOS, continued -
Copyright (What’s Yours is Yours)
- We claim no intellectual property rights over the material you provide to the Twitter service. Your profile and materials uploaded remain yours. You can remove your profile at any time by deleting your account. This will also remove any text and images you have stored in the system.
- We encourage users to contribute their creations to the public domain or consider progressive licensing terms.
- Twitter undertakes to obey all relevant copyright laws. We will review all claims of copyright infringement received and remove content deemed to have been posted or distributed in violation of any such laws. To make a claim, please provide us with the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or the person authorized to act on its behalf;
- A description of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed;
- A description of the infringing material and information reasonably sufficient to permit Twitter to locate the material;
- Your contact information, including your address, telephone number, and email;
- A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
- A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner.
Claims can be sent to copyright@twitter.com or Twitter Inc., 164 South Park Street, San Francisco CA 94107. Contact the agent designated to receive and act on copyright violations under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
(These terms of service were inspired, with permission, by Flickr.)
[↩]
- “it is harassment but we’re not cops” [↩]
- “When enough people block an account on Twitter that usually indicates some sort of attempted abuse—this is how the Twitter community lets us know when something is not quite right.” – Here [↩]
- But this is obviously not Twitters hard and fast rule based on Ev’s response. [↩]
- Quotes, etc. [↩]
- I listed them in my Help Request to Twitter. [↩]
-
[↩] - I have intentionally not listed the other users ID here. Its deliberate. I will not play the same games he does. [↩] [↩]
- Or they are not allowed to use the system. [↩]
…”To be kind, Ev’s response was short and sweet. In essence he told the victim to piss off and not bother him(2) . Twitter took no action, it is over as far as Twitter is concerned. Even a CLEAR TOS violation will not be enforced.”…
Yup. That’s about how it went.
To be fair, Ev actually said “Unfortunately, we can’t do anything in this case. While our TOS disallows harassment, etc., we error on the side of free speech when at all possible. We have to avoid playing cop between users who disagree. Good luck.”
Yes, his words, typos and all – not mine.
Also, you wrote …”On the other hand Twitter will, and has in the past, blocked users from accessing Twitter after they have been blocked by other users. This is automatic and takes numbers…”
I don’t think that is really what happened at all. I think that is a BS story they told @FoulBastard because they didn’t want to admit they suspended his account because he used the words twitter in the name. Here’s why I say this, when the harassment began supporters began direct messaging each other spreading the news about the harassment. In turn, people started blocking the harasser in mass numbers. Nothing happened. His account was not suspended nor was it even investigated as far as we can tell. In fact, he went on to create over 15 accounts for the sole purpose of stalking and harassment AND he said so directly in a message he posted on twitter. Even with all of that, @Ev did nothing to investigate or enforce.
I love using twitter and I don’t think users should have to be forced into a position to “protect” their accounts and go private.
Like I mentioned before, that’s like telling the single gal walking in the park that if she doesn’t want to be attacked she shouldn’t walk in the park. How about we police the park a little better?
@TMCamp said it best “The idea of a “self policing” community is fine, but help by backing up your *own* policies”
Twitter should step up and enforce their Terms of Service (TOS) Agreement. Why have a TOS
agreement if you aren’t going to stand behind it?
One more thing I’d like to add, Twitter has the potential to be great as opposed to good. I’ll be blogging about the flaws in Twitter’s TOS issues and offering suggestions and opportunities for improvement. I think everyone using Twitter should do the same as well as tweet about it.
@evansdave said “That’s the power of the collecitve. A single voice with persistence creates the pressure that drives change…
Let’s be the change!
Last year, my wife and I honeymooned in Orlando. For the first part of our trip, we stayed at an Embassy Suites near the Disney parks (I’m a big fan, and she’d never been). The hotel was generally not as nice as it had been advertised, but the kicker came two nights into our stay.
Just after midnight, my wife heard the sound of a keycard being inserted into our door’s scanner, and then the door opening. She woke me, and when I heard noises too I asked “who’s there?”. The intruder said “oh, sh*t!” and ran; when I got to the still-open door, nobody was in sight. I called down to the front desk and told them that someone had used a keycard to enter our room, having checked to make sure that we still had both of ours. They said they’d look into it.
The next day, I went to talk to the manager. There was no report at all of the break-in; and the manager’s initial response was “well, if you’d used the chain lock on your door, they wouldn’t have been able to get in.” Eventually he gave us a refund for the remainder of our stay and we left the hotel, but I will never forget that when we said “someone broke into our room”, his initial response was “well, it’s your fault”.
That story popped into my head immediately when I started reading about this. It’s kind of sad that Twitter claims to take a stand against harassment in their terms of service and then chooses to “[err] on the side of free speech” when harassment actually occurs. Dayngr, I feel for you; I hope this ends up working out in your favor, because the fellow in question really does need to be stopped.
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If it wasn’t clear when 1938media put up @shelisreal to harass @shelisrael, then this just serves as another example of it.
Honestly guys? there are 15 people working for Twitter. Last I checked, none of them was full-time legal counsel.
I know who we’re talking about b/c I pre-emptively blocked all the accounts which he so helpfully listed on his webpage, about the time the 4th one added me.
There are a number of psychotics on Twitter – we all have to hope that they get infamous enough, quickly enough, that no one of any import listens to their ramblings.
My sympathies.
I was asked by Dayngr to block the user in question, but thought it was a free speech issue at first. Then I saw how active he was with his multiple accounts and realized the user was indeed making a royal pain of himself. Free speech is one thing; harassment is another. I couldn’t block the user in question however since he did not follow me.
I suspect Twitter simply didn’t want to wade into this issue and hoped it would blow over. They were right and you were right. Which means the other user won.
The burden of proof is on you. Unfortunately, Twitter doesn’t make it clear how they expect you to prove that this was harassment, and anything he posts off Twitter is not their problem. The truth is that they are a small startup with limited resources and thousands of users. They do not want to be police and they are avoiding it as the logistical nightmare that it is.
The shame is that they didn’t send the guy a warning. Multiple accounts posting disparaging comments with @MailourMilitary in the tweet directly land in your stream. He was clearly trying to get around the blocks. Twitter should have stepped up to the plate on this one.
Douglas
@TheLaughingImp
One would hope they could step up to their TOS like they step up to their development cycles, product enhancements and stability issues.
Wait, are we talking about SL or Twitter? I can’t ever tell the difference. Sad.
Terms of Service have in my view always been the bedrock law governing what is an is not acceptable in an online group environment.
They are without question always difficult to enforce, or have been for me with groups smaller than the twittersphere, and nonetheless still inescapable.
Sound enforcement appears to be required to engender a civil online environment where the system’s users can accomplish legitimate purposes.
As @QueenofSpain indicated, if a rule doesn’t deserved to be enforced, it should be changed or removed.
Otherwise, the history of the Internet and of online services which preceded it seem to me to clearly demonstrate that enforcement of well-conceived, well-written Terms of Service is in the collective best interests of the online community served.
This is a real shame. I can’t believe we still live in a day and age where people can just imply “tough luck” on something like this. Preventive maintenance is much better than having to deal with a much bigger mess later.
I really hope the folks in charge of Twitter take notice and send a message that harrassment won’t be tolerated. The guy in reference has followed me using several accounts as well. Sometimes I can’t keep up and don’t even have the time or know which ones are his to block!
The least they can do is send a ‘cease and desist’ notice to this guy.
If Twitter’s not careful, it will lose the quality of conversations/connections due to fear of spammers, harassers, etc.
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I’d like to add an update – after passionately discussing this late into the night last night on Twitter, one of Twitter’s VCs reached out to me. I said I had faith in Twitter doing the right thing and I am going to give them the opportunity to do so.
I’d still like to hear your thoughts and read your comments because I know that Twitter is listening.
I’ll keep you posted.
I think people are so busy drinking the social media Kool-Aid, they fail to consider that everyone in the “community” is not just any old happy camper. There are mean people who use social media tools to connect with people the same way we connect w our friends. It’s hard to disconnect from these people.
I hope everything works out for you. I’m sorry this is happening.
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Something I feel the need to express here, the harassment was from MULTIPLE accounts.
Not just !. MANY
This person did not just harass @Dayngr and @MailOurMilitary, he has harassed several of their followers. People that simply converse with Dayngr and/or MailOurMilitary.
The rants and accusations, ridiculous, put simply; unwarranted and unnecessary.
What saddens me the most is that Twitter, is doing NOTHING!!!
You will suspend @Foul Bastard?? but not this guy??
Dear Twitter,
I am severely disappointed. I thoroughly enjoy twitter. I love its diversity and its openness.
But you guys seriously need to look into your TOS or JUST CHANGE THEM, if you aren’t willing to enforce them.
thanks,
Kelly
Yes, this user that harassed Dayngr also kept adding accounts and attempting to follow me. I blocked all I could find that were following me, but there were at least 6 or 7.
Twitter in their ToS clearly reserves the right not to act. But the good will lost by not acting could easily turn into $$ if another site comes along offering the same thing. There is BrightKite for example. A presence app but location based.
The problem is mainly here that there is no clear way to report such cases. Small companies probably have trouble just keeping the doors open, let along fielding tons of support emails. In this case, their app mostly works really well with only the occasional outage, so 24/7 support is probably of otherwise low value.
I don’t let them off the hook for that though. Customer service issues are more key now than ever. With more choices, more conversation and more knowledgeable users, the time has come to get it right.
Do you hear me Twitter team?
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A lot of people on twitter like to hear themselves talk and a few are mean spirited, some unbalanced, add every attribute known to man and you’ll find it on twitter. It’s more than unfortunate that the situation has gone this far, and to me it seems like harassment.
That said, it doesn’t matter what I think – it only matters what Twitter honchos think. It’s clear that the twitter team may feel the need to distance themselves from users and steer clear of controversy it also seems clear that the language used in the reply to Dayngr from Ev was offhanded and unnecessarily flippant.
Ending with “good luck” in this instance seems to shows a disregard for the situation even more than their inaction.
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As many of you know, I cut my teeth in politics, where guys like Noah David and his many twitter incarnations just seem to be a part of the landscape. He’s an unhappy, unemployed misfit with too much time on his hands and the ability to use it to make other lives less comfortable. I say we beat him at his own game and make eMailOurMilitary.com as successful as we possibly can. I’m working with Trish on a campaign around Mother’s Day greetings for the troops who are also moms. In a joint effort with qipit.com we’re trying to get the word out on twitter, @mailourmilitary, and everywhere else. Let’s outnumber and outperform the poor guy who is misguidedly messing with the wrong woman!
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“We may, **but have no obligation to**, remove Content and accounts containing Content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Use.”
Bottom line: Twitter IS adhering to its TOS.
@dayngr
They clearly state they’re under no obligation to do sh*t about abusive accounts. And, true to the TOC, they haven’t.
Do I agree with the way they’ve chosen to handle the situation? Hell no. I think it ranks off the chart in Stupidity Factor.
They would have been better served by making a very public example of this phucktard.
But they didn’t.
WE agreed to these TOS. WE agreed to ‘Use at our own risk’ – including the risk of being attacked, harassed, and defamed by other members. WE committed to shouldering that risk, but Twitter did NOT commit to mitigating it. The did reserve the right to intervene though.
You were harassed. You filed a complaint. They responded (however inadequately.) No Action taken.
As far as the existing TOS is concerned, that is the end of the story.
Now, the real question is: Will you succeed in changing their minds? Or, even more ambitious, will you affect a change in policy.
I think you will.
@SeanMarler
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My “two cents” for what they are worth:
The thing I love about Twitter is that I can connect with individuals I would never have the opportunity to otherwise meet in the “real world.” Unlike the “real world,” apparently I cannot disconnect with those I am not comfortable with on Twitter.
I am trying to understand both sides of the issue; however, I cannot, for the life of me, understand Twitter’s apparent lack of control over their own service. While I agree that freedom of speach is an important underlying concept of social media/networking, there is a point where comments or actions cross the line of acceptable behavior. When this happens, Twitter MUST step in and do something about it.
Are there grey areas? Absolutely! This particular case appears to be pretty black and white to me though.
So in the spirit of coming up with solutions, my recommendation would be to establish a user-based committee with oversight of the terms of use. Let’s nominate and elect a group of individuals that use Twitter on a regular basis to arbitrate or rule on issues such as these.
Twitter doesn’t exist without all of the individual personalities interacting. Why not allow those individuals help govern the community.
Thoughts???
Tom White Jr.s last blog post..You Have Got To Be Kidding Me…
To add to the discussion, I’ve published my 1st blog post on the topic title “Twitter’s Terms Of Service – For Show or For Real” at:
http://dayngrzone.blogspot.com/2008/04/twitters-terms-of-service-for-show-or.html
Glen, I agree with what you’re saying. But in the end, it’s thier site, they are the ones that can decide how they will treat these matters. – True, a public outcry might change things, and yes, we should try to get them to do something. But I don’t know what their business model is, and if they don’t have someone hired to handle these things, it will get brushed off. – I honestly think that the twitter crew is more concerened right now to geting the site working, and not crashing, or locking up. Once there is some money being tossed around, and NOT fixing a problem means a loss of money, then they’re going to pay attention. – But this is only my two cents worth.
Personally, I gave up on Twitter’s POS…er..TOS…policy a long time ago. While I do simply adore Twitter and the friends I have there, Twitter’s admin and support is simply a crock. For example, @foulbastard can be ostracized because of a few breasts women willing contributed, yet other miscreants can send unsolicited pics of his cock to unsuspecting women all over Twitter. When word gets out and the women block him, he simply makes up another nic and keeps right on sendin. Did admin respond to the complaints about that guy? Hell No! I can’t even get a response concerning my lack of email notifications. I’ve contacted them numerous times due to the fact that regardless of my settings, I haven’t seen a notification from Twitter in six months or more. Then you have the this guy….who’s flooding of the public timeline itself would seem to be enough to warrant some action. Let’s face it… they aren’t going to do a damn thing unless enough of the right people start protesting loud enough, and dragging in more voices on top of their own. So PREACH it brothers and sisters!!! Amen and Twitterlujah!
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I first heard about this guy a few days ago from a reply that @foulbastard posted to him & I thought it was just that account alone he was ranting on, until today when I saw the faves under @mailourmilitary and was surprised to see MULTIPLE accounts from this same guy making harassing statements over and over again. its one thing to have “free speech” and voice your opinion but to go to those lengths is just plain harassment. not to mention it could be considered libel.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Twitter, but It seems twitter is unconcerned with the TOS since it clearly states spamming will result in deletion of your account when we all know the spamming problem is HUGE. not to mention, like the last commenter pointed out, the guy who’s going around adding women and tricking them into following links to show off his junk. why isn’t that considered harassment?
although I wonder how Twitter could possibly enforce these sorts of issues. Couldn’t the person simply create another account regardless of how many get blocked/deleted (which seems to be a problem in this case) ? spammers aren’t usually so persistent as to go through the trouble of creating new accounts if they get blocked but if its truly harassment, these people will go to any lengths it seems.
I really hope twitter finds a solution to this problem, and quickly, since it is our right as twitter users to NOT have to endure this kind of abuse.
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[...] Musings of Wired Pig 2.1 | When TOS isnt TOS Twitter seems disinclined to enforce it’s own terms of service – even when its founder acknowledges that harassment has taken place. (tags: evwilliams twitter) Elsewhere… [...]
There’s always potential for unpleasantness in an online forum, since people are people; but when it turns into abuse and harassment, something needs to be done about it.
Here’s hoping that this experience sets a precedent, and Twitter uses it to clarify and enforce their TOS.
[...] about this/these cases can be found here on @Dayngr ’s blog and here on @WiredPig’s site. Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)USING THIS SITE – 2Windows RSS PlatformOrange [...]
Great post. I’m really disappointed by Twitter’s lack of action on the matter.. or even some real consideration in a vague way to at least tell us that they’re “looking into the problem.” This guy is a nutjob and an exception to the normal “fan”…
I’m going to watch the posts and hope there’s some progress. If there is anything wanted from me, you can reach me on my blog or my twitter @scandalous.
Perhaps a petition? /shrug sigh
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It’s pretty sad – why some people don’t focus that sick energy into something constructive, but even more sad that Twitter is not enforcing their own rules.
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You make a good point.
I have to say that I am frustrated that there is a problem that A LOT of users have with one user. The user has been brought to Twitters attention and still nothing is done.
Thanks for taking the time to share your comment.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment!
Like I said last night, just because Twitter wasn’t prepared for their growth spurt doesn’t excuse them from taking action when things are brought to their attention. Perhaps the wrong people were contacted but that isn’t our fault since there is no obvious way TO report a TOS violation on Twitter. Still, when Twitter was presented with the information a quick glance at ANY of the accounts would have shown a clear pattern of abuse going on. If the person who received the email at Twitter wasn’t the go to guy he could have easily forwarded the email to someone who was. If they didn’t have the time to research and respond right then and there then let people know you’ll get back to them. Don’t just say, sorry & good luck.
Also, telling the victim to block their harasser only removes them from view, it doesn’t prevent them from seeing what you say, following your follwers or from continuing to post harassing comments. Only protecting your tweets and going private will do that and that basically defeats the purpose of social networking – doesn’t it?
Multiple accounts posting mulitple disparaging comments about a person or organization using the person’s or company’s name makes it pretty obvious that there is some sort of abuse going on. I have no doubt it would be obvious to anyone and everyone at Twitter IF they took the time to look. It’s just a matter of getting them to look. Like GeekMommy said, Twitter has a small staff so there is only so much they can do at one time but that is certainly no excuse.
Um, you actually can block someone who isn’t following you.
I use pre-emptive blocking all the time.
Just click on Block on the bottom of their sidebar.
Excellet point Michelle. We are all part of the community. What affects me today might affect you tomorrow if it’s not taken care of during the 1st go round.
Building a better Twitter community today will benefit us all in the long run.
You’re right. It is unbelievable that in this day and age of technology people are expected to “tough luck” it, especially since doing the homework on this one really wouldn’t have been that difficult. Links, screenshots and account information was all provided and it was all done within twitter so the proof was all right there – archived for the world to see.
If they can block @foulbastard why can’t they block this idiot? Like it has been stated here, the overwhelming response by the twitter community made the staff at twitter come up with the excuse of all the people that had blocked him. Well, the idiot in question has been blocked by many, why not do the same here?
They speak on “violating free speech”. Since when has free speech ever involved harassment?
I agree with you – there is more than one harassing troll on twitter, just as there is on the internet… very seldom have I found a site that will actively ban those who use their ‘voices’ to bludgeon others.
I guess I’m just too used to getting no response to be surprised.
I agree that they might as well change the TOS if they’re not going to even bother to pretend to enforce them.
Tom said: “So in the spirit of coming up with solutions, my recommendation would be to establish a user-based committee with oversight of the terms of use. Let’s nominate and elect a group of individuals that use Twitter on a regular basis to arbitrate or rule on issues such as these.”
I think a big fat “Phuctard” button should be on every profile.
Okay, maybe not “phucktard”, but maybe one that says “Abusive Profile? Click Here.” That way the community has the power – and not delegates – to ban a user. Enough people flag (not block) the profile they get the boot.
Sounds like a SPAM killer of an idea too.
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I almost spit my beer out… I freakin love THAT idea… Here’s to the addition of the “PHUKTARD” button on Twitter.
Tom White Jr.s last blog post..You Have Got To Be Kidding Me…
I like the BIG FAT FLAG BUTTON idea so we can flag accounts that are causing trouble. I don’t agree that if enough people flag it (not block) the user gets the boot – because then it becomes a popularity contest of how many friends can you rally to give someone the boot. I do think that it should send up all sorts of bells and whistles to Twitter so they can look into the account. I also think that having the account placed on a temp suspension would be great and it would force the user to contact twitter to get their account re-activated, thus forcing twitter to review the account. What do you think about that compromise?
Good point on the popularity contest – I hadn’t thought about that. Temp suspension is a GREAT compromise, as long as the folks at Twitter will manage it and take it seriously…
Tom White Jr.s last blog post..You Have Got To Be Kidding Me…
I like the idea. Either with the, funny as hell, Phucktard button or, more likely, flagging it for review by Twitter. The latter seems the most likely to be workable.
Yes having a group gang up and block a user isnt a good thing and I could see that happening. Thats one reason I didn’t put his user ID in the post.
Side note: If you get an error while trying to post a comment, please email me (wiredpig@gmail.com) with the details of the error that you saw and did not allow your post to make it.
Sean,
You are so right. Twitter’s TOS sates:
You must not abuse, harass, threaten, impersonate or intimidate other Twitter users.
and
Violation of any of these agreements will result in the termination of your Twitter.com account
However, they also state further down the list:
We may, but have no obligation to, remove Content and accounts containing Content that we determine in our sole discretion are unlawful, offensive, threatening, libelous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property or these Terms of Use.
Isn’t that a contradiction? They say there are the rules and if you break them it will result in termination but only maybe since we have no obligation to do it. What’s wrong with this picture?
Additionally, it is important to note that at this time Twitter doesn’t have a clear and concise way to report TOS violations. I’m hoping that together we can change this to make reporting TOS violations easier and to make sure they are investigated and acted upon.
Will I succeed in changing their minds? Or, even more ambitious, affecting a change in policy?
You better believe I will. It’s just good business and I believe Twitter wants to be around for a long, long time doing lots of good business.
Todd said it best too “Twitter in their ToS clearly reserves the right not to act. But the good will lost by not acting could easily turn into $$ if another site comes along offering the same thing. There is BrightKite for example.”
Sean,
I agree with what you are saying, but Twitter is being vague and contradictory.
Twitter states QUITE CLEARLY right after the Basic Terms that “Violation of any of these agreements WILL RESULT in the termination of your Twitter.com account.” Not MAY, but an emphatic WILL. It is not until, nestled into the General Terms, that Twitter states it MAY.
The Basic Terms are the conditions for your use of their service. Those are the “Twitter Rules” if you will.
Twitter cannot have it both ways. Either it WILL do something, as I read for violations of the Basic Terms or it won’t.
Of course there is contradiction – it is a legal document designed to protect Twitter.
They can, and probably will correct the contradiction by changing one word:
“Violation of any of these agreements MAY result in the termination of your Twitter.com account”
Additionally, there is a reason reporting issues isn’t straight forward and idiot proof – they currently don’t care. They’ve established that much.
Hopefully that will change, though.
Re: $$$$ <– have you figured out the Twitter revenue model? If so, please share. As far as I can tell, twitter isn’t making money (’cept maybe in Japan, and that’s not likely) The value in twitter will come from a stable platform and huge user base – someone else will try to monetize it.
Unless abuse spirals out of control, or some blonde chick from Miami makes some noise, this has no immediate impact on $$$.
And, on that note, I’m done here.
I hope they step up. I hope you win the day. I hope the meds make this nasty rash go away.
Sean Marlers last blog post..Often Overlooked, Always More Profitable
Kelly said “This person did not just harass @Dayngr and @MailOurMilitary, he has harassed several of their followers. People that simply converse with Dayngr and/or MailOurMilitary”
That is the part that makes it bad for business for Twitter. As a business owner, I encourage our users to register and actively participate with us on twitter. If they are being attacked and harassed it not only makes twitter look bad, it makes ME look bad. I’m not ok with that and in good faith I can’t refer our users to twitter until twitter makes it right.
He kept adding me because I know you guys… but also possibly because I blocked his primary account ages ago.
Unstable is the nice word to describe his behavior.
Todd you hit the nail on the head!
As a Twitter power user it certainly does matter what you think. Your voice counts and Twitter should hear it.
Excellent point!
Randy,
Thats a good point. I’m in a quandary though with contradictory clauses in the TOS. I read it one way and someone else can interpret it another.
Yeah except it’s not just their site – it’s ours. We’re the users and we’re their lifeblood. Without users twitter ceases to be relevant.
Why are we accepting that? Why are we allowing the sites we promote and use to abuse us and treat us as 2nd class citizens. WE are their lifeblood.
Yeah, about that rash…
Oh, I actually wrote a blog about this issue yesterday. It’s the entry before this most recent one. Again, here’s hoping that Twitter sees the responses here, Get Satisfaction, and other places.
Jennifer Stavross last blog post..One more reason taxidermy seems more & more appealing
We will see what happens. Either way Twitter knows how we feel.