Last night I went to follow someone new on Twitter and discovered that my account had been... suspended! I read Twitter's help page on contesting a suspension and still could not figure out for the life of me what technical or other violations I'd committed.Several of my friends on Twitter have had their accounts hacked, so I clicked on my feed to see if I might have fallen prey to the same issue. Well, apparently Twitter hides the feeds of users who are being investigated for spam, so I couldn't even see my last tweet (though I'm pretty sure it mentions a book I'm reading). Another writer I know had her account suspended after her website got hacked, so I checked that, too. Nada.
I emailed support begging them to restore my account and promising to be a better citizen of the Twittersphere (though in truth, I think I'm already a pretty good citizen). This morning, with just as much warning (meaning zilch), my account was mysteriously back to normal. There were no signs of a hacker, and Twitter didn't even bother to send me an automated email (Dear Twitter: I know you know how to send automated emails because I get several per day!).
I'm happy to have my account restored and I realize that Twitter is a free service (for now, at least), but I'm also a little miffed that they can suspend someone with zero warning and without even an automated courtesy email explaining why. (In retrospect, I'm guessing it was because I'd scheduled a few tweets using Tweetlater.com and maybe they mistook that for a spambot.) Sure, they're trying to protect other users from spam, but if a real person took 20 seconds to read my feed, they'd see that I'm a real person, too, and I'm actively engaged in the Twitter community.
Frustration aside, there is an important lesson in all of this. I had something similar happen to my Google documents account several months ago, and it prompted me to stop relying on Google docs for important files. Online apps are fun and easy-to-use, but they're not always reliable. They (Twitter, Google, etc.) can yank your account access if they suspect foulplay (or even sometimes just "because") and, of course, service is often spotty anyway. So it's best not to rely on Twitter as a communications tool or contact manager, as some people are starting to do.
Your turn! Have you had this happen to you? How long did it take to resolve?
12 comments:
This is exactly why I find it unbelievable to see people with whole business plans and models based on "free" services - Twitter, Ning, etc. You get what you pay for - so if it's free, don't forget that it's free.
(Glad to hear you were reinstated...)
mashable has info on this. Apparently it was "human error". See http://bit.ly/QspfG and scan down to the updates.
I was suspended for about 24 hours after a hacker sent a false tweet. Thank God it just liked to some video of cars crashing and not something worse. Twitter never contacted me about the suspension nor about restoring the service. The only thing I found out was in their FAQs which stated that "third party apps" sometimes present security compromises. The only third party apps I use link Twitter to Facebook and a widget on my Wordpress site.
Very frustrating, I agree
You aren't alone. Twitter apparently accidentally suspended a bunch of accounts: http://status.twitter.com/post/136164828/restoring-accidentally-suspended-accounts
Kind of silly - I have a friend whose account was hacked for a week while she was offline and on vacation, and Twitter did nothing about it. Not. A. Thing.
I think the "human error" factor is the most important point. Technology is only as smart as its users - don't forget that even the people running the show are just users, too. Users with more access, sure, but the program only does what its told to. And if someone inadvertently tells the program to Rickroll four thousand people, well...
Wow, I guess I'm in good company!
Obviously, they worked quickly to restore those accounts, but there *is* an issue with free services like Facebook, Gmail, Blogger, Twitter, etc. When your account goes down, there are ways to report it but there's often very little accountability. I never got notified when my Google Docs access was restored and I know people whose Blogger accounts were NEVER fixed after months of trying. Again, you get what you pay for.
Not that the phone company or my internet service provider or my utilities company have the best customer service, but since I pay for those services, they are accountable to me and they *do* provide a number I can call to reach a real person (even if it takes me awhile). Just some food for thought.
This very thing happened to me when early on in my "Twitter career." It came back to normal in less than a day, and being particularly busy at that point, I just heaved a sigh of relief and got on with it.
Now the only annoyance consists of follow requests from, ahem, loose women looking for, ahem, companionship. I see they're getting suspended now. Thanks be to God.
@John: I'm hoping that comment wasn't directed at me!
Yes, they'll suspend you, but not the barrage of "women" trying to lure you to their sex sites. I mean, one was so blatant I can't even repeat what was tweeted!
I'm not sure how anyone would hack into my account, either. My password is pretty tight, but I suppose there's always a way.
@Lori: The way it happened to my friends on Twitter was that they clicked on a bad link from their Twitter account and someone gave the hacker's control of their account. Usually, it's a link from the feed of someone else who has been hacked. Or so I understand it. That has much me much more careful about clicking on Twitter links!
I have become addicted to Twitter but I use it like a tool in my kit. I'm so grateful for your valuable insight into the dangers of using online apps for important stuff and reminds me of the necessity of backing up critical info. Great post!
@Lori: Oh goodness no! The "loose women" to whom I'm referring are the ones with the overly sexual tweets. Or "tweet," to be more precise. I can always spot them by their follow profiles: "0 followers, 1 tweet, following 37495" or some such.
Sorry I didn't respond earlier. I just lost of the thread (and the time).
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