Twitter’s tweet-reply change angers users

In an effort to increase the 140-character tweet limit, the platform removed users’ handles from the beginning of replies. Many long-time users expressed their displeasure.

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When one user replies to another, Twitter has traditionally kept the tweet recipient’s account name as part of the tweet. Now, the platform is taking users’ handles out of the equation in an ongoing effort to maximize tweets’ 140-character limit.

The move is still in the test phase, but if recent Twitter test phases are an indication, the platform will probably roll out the change to all users. If so, it risks angering even more long-time users.

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Mashable called the move “arguably the biggest change to Twitter’s core product in the company’s history.” TechCrunch took its commentary a step further, with one writer calling it “a mess.”

A former Twitter designer even found the change offensive:

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