Twitter Asks Tweeters to Help Nail Spammers

SAN FRANCISCO—Twitter lovers around the world are sounding a collective “Yay” today after the social networking phenom addressed one of the biggest complaints about the popular communications network—spam.

“Today we've added another tool to our spam fighting toolbox that will give users the ability to flag bad accounts on Twitter,” Jenna Dawn wrote in a Twitter blog post titled Help Us Nail Spammers. “Folks can now help us conquer spam by calling our attention to a profile they find questionable. Click the “Report as spam” button under the Actions section of a profile’s sidebar and our Trust and Safety team will check it out to see what needs to be done.

“No automated action will be taken as a result of reporting a user as spam (in other words, it can't be used to incite an angry mob against an account you don't like). And once you report a profile it will automatically be blocked from following or replying to you. You nailed it!”

For some Twitter fans, the addition is a major positive that addresses the longtime nagging negative of spam. For some Twitter-based networks it could prove to be a major headache as mass Tweets that were previously accepted as inevitable are now flagged as spam.

"This changes everything,” avid Tweeter SexToyJenn told AVN.com. “Those of us that understand that micro-blogging is more than just a way to talk about our day—it’s a way to connect in small bites at a time—have felt invaded by Twitter spammers and until now had no recourse.

“I'd even thought about starting a Twitter account just to out these people who are wasting our time and wasting our bandwidth,” she continued. “Until this notification was added, the only recourse we had to report Twitter spam was to send a private message with our complaints, basically a Black Hole cry for help from Twitter. Now we can not only report spammers—they are blocked until investigated by Twitter. It’s like having a police car for every asshole driver on the road.”

She added that the next feature she would like to see from Twitter is the ability to know if you’ve been flagged as a spammer.