Buffy Anne Summers, aka

If anyone who visits this blog has been following me on Twitter, you might like to know that Twitter suspended my account 2 days ago without explanation.

I am not aware of having violated any rules. I saw something about aggressive following and un-following, but it said that while that behavior might be indicative of spamming activity, Twitter would not specifically use that behavior to assume spamming. Yeah, okay, but that’s the only explanation I’ve been able to come up with as to why my account was suspended, i.e., that they assumed I was a spammer because I was a bit aggressive, I suppose. But I certainly have not spammed as any reasonable person who looks at my tweets can see. Nearly every tweet I have made has been on or very near the same subjects I mention in my bio, and since spam is largely in the eye of the beholder, if I did get off topic a time or two, I hardly think that qualifies as spamming. Who doesn’t get off topic on occasion? But gosh, who knows? Maybe I pointed folks to someone somewhere Twitter doesn’t like? So now they don’t like me?

It also has been quite difficult to inquire about it, i.e., find a way to submit a support ticket or send an email to Twitter — at least difficult compared to what I am used to with other sites and services — although there were references to submitting said ticket everywhere. After not being able to find any place (or rather, button to click on) to submit a ticket — although I was told to do so if I liked (and if you can point me to where to do it, I’d appreciate) — I finally sent an email to an address at twitter.com I found. But all I have received so far is an automated response, and still no explanation.

It is my understanding that my account will be suspended a minimum of 30 days, for "research" — and again, apparently, all without explanation.

Now that I’ve blogged about it, I wouldn’t be all that surprised if my account is suspended indefinitely. Life in this land of liberty has taught me that that’s how this sort of thing often works.

Whether I inadvertently broke a rule or not, I have to say, I don’t much like the way Twitter treats their members, or at least the way they are treating me — at least so far.

I also have become aware that I am not the only one who has run afoul of Twitter for no obvious reason. They apparently just cut members off without warning and without offering explanations.I know Twitter is a free service, but I’m far from convinced the folks at Twitter know what the term "service" actually means, or how to treat their members, i.e., they don’t seem to have truly established or communicated to their members a set of definitive rules by which they operate, and they seem to change whatever rules they do have on a whim, and then penalize their members without warning.

It seems everyone’s pushing Twitter these days, though, like it’s the greatest thing ever. But some may change their minds if Twitter just cuts them off like they did me — and again, as I believe it bears repeating, without explanation.

Technorati Tags: account, blog, suspend, twitter

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