I logged into Twitter this morning, full of good cheer – only to discover my account had been suspended for “Sending multiple unsolicited @messages”.
Yesterday, I participated in what I believe to be a worthy tradition. The #FF, which I understand to mean Follow Friday. I considered #FF a valuable tool, as I’ve personally used it to find new people worth following. I mentioned some of the people who have interacted with me, most of them multiple times, during the course of last week.
Apparently the Twitter powers that would be don’t like this behavior, because some time after I logged out for the night, {probably seven or eight hours after I sent my #FF’s} they decided to suspend my account. I guess Twitter consider themselves exempt from Karma’s rules, one of which I detailed as:-
Karma: a force you initiate, yet cannot control or invoke on another. #thought
— C.G.Ayling (@CGAyling) January 23, 2013
Karma: a force you initiate, yet cannot control or invoke on another. #thought
It seems very much like Twitter invoked Karma on me, doesn’t it?
Only, on the surface… {Yes, I know Twitter is an organization, and Karma really doesn’t apply, but bear with me.} Punishing me, for attempting to repay the accumulated goodwill of people kind enough to interact with me, has damaged them in my eyes. They’re a big organization, however enough little bursts of damage to their goodwill, will eventually cost them.
I understand Twitter’s decision was probably the result of a program looking for malicious behavior – however, that program needs to act a little more intelligently, or people are going to take offense, just as I have.
Twitter’s action toward me is like having the host of a party slap me in the face for introducing a few of my friends to each other. It is not pleasant. Frankly, it makes me want to leave this particular party – of course I’m not going to do anything hasty, but the desire is there, thanks to a single act on Twitter’s part. Which reminds me of another tweet:-
Speak with care, for people remember a kind word for but a day, a cruel one forever.
— C.G.Ayling (@CGAyling) November 11, 2012
Speak with care, for people remember a kind word for but a day, a cruel one forever.
Acts, might be worse than words.
