Twitter has finally begun to roll out new controls to help users deal with abuse and harassment, and here’s how it works.
A new system is currently being pushed out by micro blogging platform, Twitter, which will afford users more control over how they deal with people who are abusive, obscene or just generally acting like a total spenk online.
The new anti-harassment system will require far less user input to report abuse and for the first time people will be able to file reports on behalf of others. In addition, Twitter users will also be able to report abuse from accounts that they have already blocked through a new ‘Blocked Accounts’ page, which will also offer other options and controls.
To handle the new abuse reporting system, Twitter is actively recruiting new staff who will be able to deal with complaints in a much more time-efficient manner. After all, it’s no good having a nifty way to jab an accusing finger at online idiots if no one is paying any attention.
Twitter has hit the headlines in the recent past for all the wrong reasons, with trolls and abusers making use of the site’s open policy on anonymous accounts to get at those in the public eye (as well as those that aren’t). Just witness the absolute insanity of ‘gamergate’, which is frankly best avoided if you know nothing about it. It’s taken a while, but the avenues available to abusive users are gradually being closed off.
Shreyas Doshi, Twitter’s director of product management and user safety confirmed plans to increase controls in the coming weeks and months. Speaking via an official blog post, he wrote:
“We are nowhere near being done making changes in this area. In the coming months, you can expect to see additional user controls, further improvements to reporting and new enforcement procedures for abusive accounts. We’ll continue to work hard on these changes in order to improve the experience of people who encounter abuse on Twitter.”
The new system has already started to trickle out but Twitter has confirmed that it will be expanding it to include all users within the new few weeks.
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