Twitter tweaks Lists because of potential for abuse -- and then reverses the changes

Twitter has tried various methods of cracking down on trolling and abuse, and it is now rolling out its latest batch of safety measures. The most recent change only lasted a few hours before it was killed off due to protests.

In a seemingly well-intentioned move, Twitter decided to no longer notify users when they were added to lists. The idea was that lists could be used as a form of abuse: you might not be able to message someone, but you could add them to a list called "you're a douchebag", and they would be notified. But the change did not last very long at all.

The Twitter Safety account proudly proclaimed yesterday that users would no longer be informed when they were added to lists. "We want you to get notifications that matter. Starting today, you won't get notified when you are added to a list." A flurry of complaints soon followed suggesting that list notifications were actually the "last useful thing about Twitter".

Before long, Twitter vice president of engineering, Ed Ho, responded to those who were unhappy, saying:

@EricaJoy @TwitterSafety @Support @peterseibel Reconsidered and reversing. Thanks for the feedback.

— Ed Ho (@mrdonut) February 13, 2017

And less than three hours after announcing the initial change, Twitter Safety tweeted that the change was being reversed:

We heard your feedback - this was a misstep. We’re rolling back the change and we’ll keep listening. https://t.co/9ozPS4XlVI

— Twitter Safety (@TwitterSafety) February 13, 2017

While the decision was generally welcomed, users replied to the tweet calling for Twitter to "ban Nazis" and to make it easier to get oneself removed from lists.

Image credit: Maryna Stamatova / Shutterstock