Twitter account suspended without cause!
My twitter account is suspended for no reason! Need to go back to tweeting IMMEDIATELY. Account is http://twitter.com/sidebeer
Yesterday I was happily tweeting and having a conversation with @times2 about homework and suddenly MY ACCOUNT IS SUSPENDED! I cannot think of any reason why my account would be suspended. I follow only 16 people, and am followed by over 100. My history of 3500 tweets shows that I am not some sort of spambot, although I did tweet "I'm a bot" the other night. I was on my way to a halloween party! I've only posted links on a couple occasions, so it's clear I'm not trying to spam some website.
Twitter is a mixture of a journal of things I find interesting and a means to communicate effectively with a group of friends. I NEED it back please.

Yesterday I was happily tweeting and having a conversation with @times2 about homework and suddenly MY ACCOUNT IS SUSPENDED! I cannot think of any reason why my account would be suspended. I follow only 16 people, and am followed by over 100. My history of 3500 tweets shows that I am not some sort of spambot, although I did tweet "I'm a bot" the other night. I was on my way to a halloween party! I've only posted links on a couple occasions, so it's clear I'm not trying to spam some website.
Twitter is a mixture of a journal of things I find interesting and a means to communicate effectively with a group of friends. I NEED it back please.

53
people have this problem
I have this problem, too!
Tell me when someone solves it.
The more people who report this problem, the more it gets noticed.
The more people who report this problem, the more it gets noticed.
-
Inappropriate?Hi Ben. I suggest you send in an email to support AT twitter DOT com so someone from Twitter Support can review your account.
-
I filed a request in Twitter's help center, but have yet to see a response. A google search showed that someone had posted here and actually "got satisfaction". I'm just hoping to get this fixed as quickly as possible; I've missed out on quite a few things I would have liked to twitter about already. Will take your advice and email support directly though. I hope twitter is more appreciative than annoyed by my addiction. -
Inappropriate?Free @sidebeer
-
I'm with benmarvin, free ben lockwood!!!! Sidebeer is very funny and should not be suspended from twitter. -
Inappropriate?I hope that enough people voted on Proposition 7: Restore Sidebeer's Tweeting Privileges today! Would really like to have those back. Still no response from any Twitter constables clearing me of wrongdoing going into day 2.5 of radio silence.
I’m still frustrated
-
Inappropriate?This is the biggest injustice of all-time. If twitter refuses to fix it I will suspend my own account.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Same thing - filed a request waiting - no response
I have important followers and I even can't get the list of them now!
Account suspended:affordwealth -
Me Too!
I sent an e mail yesterday and still response. -
i'm having the same problem. Did you get yours fixed? -
Inappropriate?My Twitter account got suspended because of my support for Israel.
I filled a Getsatisfaction complaint
http://getsatisfaction.com/twitter/to...
Twitter still not responded to me officially.
I’m sad
-
Inappropriate?This morning my Twitter account (@CheriHegi) is gone - not sure if it's blocked. I've tried emailing Twitter support before for help with another problem and never got an answer.
Let me know how it goes for you - I'm not a spam bot either, just someone who loves to tweet!
I’m confused
-
Inappropriate?I do not think Twitter cares. Try asking Obama for a presidential pardon. Maybe you will get your account back! LOL
Did you piss someone off on Twitter?
Anyone good luck, but I never got my account back.
I’m sad
-
Inappropriate?I received an email just now saying that the account is under review. I'm hopeful. It's just a weird policy to suspend things without letting people know what they did wrong. I honestly don't think I was doing anything un-Twitter-like.
I'll keep everyone posted.
I’m hopeful that I'll get my account back
-
Inappropriate?@ Cheri Hegi, at least you got a response from them. I've gone the entire day without twitter and have heard zero from them.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Goodness this is discouraging. I have same prob - not much traffic - I sew - it's quite subversive, which is I suppose is why my account closed. Only joking - I don't think sewing is subversive - yet!!!;-) Sad thing is no response, I would call but no # to call - there's not support - reminds me of Apple support. Cheri - divulge your secret - how did you get a response from Twitter?....details please!!!! I've gone 2 weeks w/o response. I think they've just decided that I'm dead. When I try to re-register, my old name & email are taken. When I do a search on my friend's twitter for me, I'm not on Twitter at all. I'm so sad! ;-(
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Oh, so nice to know I'm not the only one having issues! I emailed: support@twitter.com and received a nice automated message telling me all the reasons my account could have been suspended for "Terms of Service violations or spam investigation."
I honestly don't think I violated anything, so hoping it will be resolved promptly. Keeping my fingers crossed - will post anything I hear in case it helps others.
I’m patiently waiting for help
-
Inappropriate?CheriHegi, I think your problem might be related to this Known issue: http://help.twitter.com/forums/31935/...
You'll need to login to Twitter's support system using your Twitter username and password to leave a comment at that forum. -
Inappropriate?So it took about two days for Twitter to respond to and fix my problem. Not a huge deal except that I couldn't tweet on 11/4 : [
My problem was that someone falsely reported my account as spam because they didn't like the content of my tweets. I think the best way to deal with it is to make a lot of noise, and get your followers involved. Support may not hear one wounded bird chirping, but I'm sure they can hear a whole flock. (love bird analogies) -
Inappropriate?It has been two months and I am still waiting for Twitter to reinstate my account! I put in a support ticket but never heard from them.
Twitter just does not seem to care about individual users. If someone complains about you because they did not like what you were saying, you are pretty much screwed!
I’m sad
-
My experience - the more you complain anywhere you can, here, with support tickets, etc., the sooner they look at your case. With Twitter you are always presumed guilty when anybody doesn't like you, and it is up to you to prove you are innocent - only they prefer not to communicate to you directly. In my experience, most of the time they are have a knee-jerk reaction.
Nevertheless, I got my account back in a few days after complaining not-stop. The explanation they provided for suspending my account was unbelievably strange - not to say, stupid.
I was posting the same link too much - but it was my blog, for God sake! -
My experience - the more you complain anywhere you can, here, with support tickets, etc., the sooner they look at your case. With Twitter you are always presumed guilty when anybody doesn't like you, and it is up to you to prove you are innocent - only they prefer not to communicate to you directly. In my experience, most of the time they are have a knee-jerk reaction.
Nevertheless, I got my account back in a few days after complaining not-stop. The explanation they provided for suspending my account was unbelievably strange - not to say, stupid.
I was posting the same link too much - but it was my blog, for God sake! -
Inappropriate?Thanks for the link, mdy. I tried to respond, but they had closed comments so I couldn't do anything. Anyone else have any luck with the link?
I'm amazed, Ben, that you can get your account shut down for spam if just one other person complains. Seems a bit unfair.
I’m starting to get frustrated
-
Hi Cheri. The link isn't really closed for comments. The problem is that you need to be logged into the system in order to be able to post a comment. I'm having the same problem as you, so what I did was create another twitter account, logged in with that one and then I was able to post the details of my initial account on that post.
Good luck! :) -
Inappropriate?Thanks, paolizq. I had tried to login and get to the page, but for some reason it didn't work the first time. Tried again after your post & it worked like a charm. Thanks!
Let's hope this means that we aren't getting slapped on the wrist for some unknown offense and will all be tweeting away happily soon!
I’m trying to believe
-
Cheri - finally did the same thing here - signed on with another ID and got on to register my account suspension. This is really a mess - to register a support complaint you have to sign on which you can't do because your account has been suspended - I'm having too many Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr moments over this. Fortunately I feel as though I'm making progress! Not sure where! -
Inappropriate?Just writing to let you know that my account is back!!! So, if anyone has this problem, just go to http://help.twitter.com/forums/31935/... and enter your details.
Good luck everybody!
I’m relieved and happy
-
when it says that your request is "being processed" how long does that process usually take? -
Inappropriate?I'm back too!!! no word on why it went down - I'll chalk it up to tech difficulties. Good luck everyone else - looks like adding it to the forum link paolizq references above worked.
I’m very happy! Thanks, Twitter!
-
Inappropriate?e ai galera como faço para libera meu twitter denovo o status dele esta como suspenso será q vou perde ele
-
Inappropriate?I'm a long-time Twitter user--years building up a base of Twitter friends. As a result, instead of catching up with my Twitter friends, I'm sitting here complaining about how bummed I am about not being able to. I've posted on my blog more details of my Twitter account suspension. I'll update that post as the situation progresses.
-TimK
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?I'm back on, but it did take a while and I did register a complaint about my original account with my new account. New account only way I could get to Twitter support. Keep at it, and as long as your twitter isn't a huge violation it will be restored - eventually. Can't say much about the time here, I was off for about 4 weeks which seems like forever, but finally did get back on.
Good luck -
Inappropriate?They've reactivated my account, since about 11 PM EDT. No explanation given for the suspension.
I’m unsure
-
Inappropriate?My Account www.twitter.com/BuzzFS was suspended without any reason
The message I get is
Account Suspended
This account is currently suspended and is being investigated due to strange activity. If we have suspended your account mistakenly, please let us know. See Suspended Accounts for more information.
The link http://twitterhelp.blogspot.com/2008/.... goes nowhere.
No one answers an email and no one answers support requests!
I’m Fangry
-
Buzz, if you can't log on to Twitter (which you probably can't), then sign up for a new name, new account and register your complaint through that new account. That's what I did. But I'll be honest, it takes weeks not days or hours, and you may never get a response, just one day your Twitter account will work and that's the only notice you'll have.
As I've posted many times, I think they are just woefully understaffed and their policy of suspending first and asking later is probably the best they can do considering the rapid popularity of the whole service.
This doesn't do much to alleviate your anger/frustration, but it might help a little. Good luck -
Inappropriate?My twitter account (@bassyc) also got suspended due to "suspected actions" recently,of which I have no idea of.
Am just another normal college kid who loves to tweet with his friends and accomplices and get into more in this social networking world.Don't know what I have done.
Anyways,if you guys have any suggestions for me,please leave it here.
Thanks in advance.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?"Account Suspended
This account is currently suspended and is being investigated due to strange activity. If we have suspended your account mistakenly, please let us know. See Suspended Accounts for more information."
I am also getting this same notice as Buzz above.
I have important connections there,and frankly speaking,I can't afford loosing them..
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Holy Shit!.
Trust me something big and surprising just happened.
It has not been 10 minutes that I have sent a request of complaining in your site as well as here: http://help.twitter.com/requests/314236 that I found my twitter account working.Don't know whether I should call or christen it a 'COINCIDENCE' or what otherwise..Am amused!!
I’m amused
-
Inappropriate?My account (www.twitter.com/colourart) has been suspended after a hacker hacked into my website which was in my profile. I have opened a ticket with Twitter explaining, had a couple of replies to say they're investigating and then nothing. I miss twitter and all my friends and contacts on there.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Account has been re-actived, I can twitter again. Phew! :0)
-
How long did it take them to respond? I've been waiting for 4 days now with the exact same problem. -
irad - there's no rhyme or reason - it may take a couple of days, it may take a couple of weeks (ugh!) I know that's not what you want to hear, but that's the way it is....there could be a myriad of things wrong - hacked username....a trigger clicked, that didn't mean anything....but probably more than likely, their in-house checks to keep spam at a minimum could have sent out a red flag (whether deserved or not), and then because they have grown so fast (probably too fast) they are woefully behind....stay with it and unless you are breaking some rules, you will get your account back. Good luck. -
Inappropriate?Last wednesday I couldn’t access my website. Whenever you tried to access it from Firefox or Safari on a mac, you got a warning saying the website is unsafe. Apparently it got hacked by a weird phishing virus called gumbler.cn.
My webmaster deleted the hacked malware code on the website, and I applied google with several requests of reviewing the site again in order to remove the warning. It took them 2 days to do it.
I guess since the website’s address is listed in my twitter account (@irad), it got automatically suspended. 4 support tickets I’ve opened on the twitter support site are still “being proccessed”.
Today is Saturday, a boaring day to go through without my @irad Twitter, and besides the support site, twitter has one to talk to.
Ugh.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Thanks Claire. You bring me luck. I got my life back this morning. My @irad life to be exact.
I’m finally happy.
-
Inappropriate?www.twitter.com/robin_low my account is suspended for a few days now, and what's worse, I'm a lecturer teaching social media and I'm promoting the use of twitter, but my account was suspended.
I've submitted 2 requests and 1 email so far, but they simply close the requests and send me a bunch of links which did not help, my account @robin_low is still suspended.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?BOYCOTT TWITTER ..THEY ARE BOGUS....INTERNET POLICE....GREEDY ...AND JUST FULL OF S@$*......BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER.....BOYCOTT TWITTER....BOYCOTT TWITTER
-
If you have a specific complaint, we'll do our best to help, but if you're just here to rant, there's not much we can do. -
This reply was removed on 05/25/09.
see the change log -
Inappropriate?My account (twitter.com/cjotucker) has also been suspended for - oh wait, I have NO IDEA what for! I received the same notice as everyone else....
Account Suspended
This account is currently suspended and is being investigated due to strange activity. If we have suspended your account mistakenly, please let us know. See Suspended Accounts for more information.
...and the bogus blogspot link.
Seriously, what gives? This seems to be a pretty common problem. I use Twitter for my work, so not having it is VERY BAD.
It's very discouraging to hear that all of you are either getting zero response, or having to wait WEEKS for your account to be reinstated! I've posted nothing offensive, no copyright infringements, and I think I've linked maybe ONCE, ever. It makes me a bit paranoid as to what exactly I CAN post once my account is active again!
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?There is some good news. I was suspended on Saturday and had written to them through their regular support system with no answer. The next day, I posted a message on this board and got a response that day! Definilatly keep trying, they do seem to be responding. I recently read on line that they had changed over their help desk systems. I'm sure they are doing their best to keep up with the incredible volume.
-
Actually, it does seem to be this way, ChefMod - my account was just reinstated. If it was a result of posting on here, then - my gosh, thank you to whoever! -
Inappropriate?my accound aberro has been suspended. I can't log on. I did a search on twitter for me and saw that the last post from me actually wasn't from me which is probably the reason for my denial of service. I have written twitter at least 5 times with no reply. This has been going on since Saturday. I am not happy at all! My account was not a spam account nor did I send bad tweets. I am quite upset that support hasn't written be back or even let me know the status of my account. Any suggestions on how to get the ball rolling????
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?I have the same problem as well. I am not even sure why my account has been suspended and it's hurting my followers. I usually update to let eveyone know how my music journey is going. Any suggestions?? No response back from the email I sent to support....and I am sad about it...
twitter.com/cheszerae
I’m really sad
-
Inappropriate?After reading all of these post I am really worried. My account was suspended today while I was at work! I was not even online when it was suspended. I am not sure why either. I get the same message as everyone else. I submitted a support request, but now I wonder if it will be seen. @OrchidTalk was me. Darn, I was starting to make alot of friends there too.
-
Inappropriate?My account has been suspended for almost 2 weeks now i have no idea why cherrie lipinski is my name.This really ticks me off i only follow 9 people.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?My account got fixed yesterday! I probably hounded them way too much, but whatever it was, they fixed it all yesterday with a password reset and it is all working now! YAY!
I’m happy
-
Inappropriate?Hi Aberro. How long did it take from start to finish to get your account back up?
-
Inappropriate?Same here ( like Aberro)...I believe you should be persistent and sincere and someone will contact you shortly. I am back and running! I feel very happy about this!
@cheszerae
I’m happy
-
Inappropriate?My twitter account has also been suspended @lisabeaney with the same message as everyone else... I ahve tried using their help system but have had no response.. I'm really missing everyone on twitter !
I’m sad
-
Inappropriate?Mine is back up and running after 2 weeks keep posting they will get to you.
-
Inappropriate?This is BestOfTowitter (John A Weston) suspended after just 1 month. Why oh why don't they tell you why you have been suspended. I really would like to comply with the rules (if I knew what the problem was). Tickets get closed without any resolution. In any normal business people would walk with their feet. I guess they are so enormously successful that they don't care anymore.
I’m sad, angry & frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Yup, I am having the same problem. Three days ago Twitter shut me down. No notices or warnings. I have requested to know why, but nobody has responded. Heck, they even deleted my initial support ticket and I had to re-submit a complaint.
If they are going to suspend an account, they ought to at least offer a warning beforehand.. But, this appears to be standard operating procedure for Twitter. Nothing is documented. Their entire operation is arbitrary.
My website is about an album I am selling. The album has a song that makes fun of Rap music. Perhaps the good folks at Twitter are closet Eminenema fans.
brandtmorain
How do I feel??? Ignored. -
Inappropriate?Yeah, no one's paying attention to my complaint and my account is still locked. It's getting annoying that no one is even trying to unsuspend my account.
I’m annoyed
-
Are you still able to login to your account? If not, can you try the 'forgot password' link at http://twitter.com/account/resend_pas... and see if that gets you in?
Also, if you haven't done so yet, I suggest you log a support ticket so Twitter Support looks at your account. You can do this by going to http://help.twitter.com and clicking on the "Submit a request" link in the upper left corner of the page. -
Inappropriate?I did sign up for an auto following yesterday. I am wondering if that is the cause of this? If it is, then I really screwed myself. At the time I thought it was a great idea, since they were supposed to be all people with the same interests as me! I have no idea what happened!!!
-
Inappropriate?I just got suspended yesterday because I used revtwt autopost and I learned the hard way that such a method only works if you post a TON on twitter and I don't do that so, for the last day, it looked a bit spammy and I didn't mean for that to happen. I reset rewtwt to manual post and once my account is returned, I'll simply use my old method of ad--5 posts--ad and spread the ads out a bit. Beyond that, simply be careful with sites that use autoposting. Associated Content has the same method, but it's only used when an article is published.
I submitted a ticket ten hours ago, so it hasn't been that long at all, but I've already sent a follow-up.
I'm Inaheart over on Twitter. I have 157 followers and I follow around that many people. I have a couple of friends there and sites that I follow. My account was never meant to a "spleet". I post more than just ads. I just wish I never used the revtwt auto post function. They do have options, but I've found that just posting sponsored posts/ads are better done manually.
I’m sad/shocked
-
I'm Inaheart on Twitter. -
Inappropriate?I note with interest that the Twitter RevTwt account is suspended.
-
The RewTwt itself is suspended? Oh boy...Too bad because I think it was a pretty cool idea. I just wish I didn't use the autoppost function. Oh well... -
Inappropriate?Perhaps the Twitter system is so overloaded that they are using suspension as a way of reducing the load? There seems to be an awful lot of suspended accounts.
-
Inappropriate?I have the same problem. I WAS @meREDithgail. I had a modest list of followers and those that I was following. Really only used the website to keep in touch with friends. I originally logged in and saw that my account had been suspended (who the hell knows why?). Then I couldn't log in...I just got an error message that the combination of username and pw was incorrect. I COULDN'T EVEN FILE A COMPLAINT/investigation.
Today, I decided to just make a new account. @meREDithDubya. This worked for all of 5 minutes BEFORE I got the error message about the username and pw. I'm typing it correctly. This is beyond frustrating!!!!
I’m frustrated
-
Does using the "forgot password" link let you create a new password for your account? The link is: http://twitter.com/account/resend_pas... -
Meredith - this is similar what happened to me....I did do a second account with which I could log on to support to make a ticket about my suspended account. This is how I finally got back on and my account re-established. Try this again, and use a different email address and record all your passwords, usernames, etc., so that you can get back on to support to file a ticket with them.
This does work, and I won't say it isn't frustrating - it is, but stick with it and unless there's something egregious going on, you'll be re-established. -
Inappropriate?I wonder this this is the case for some of the suspended accounts. This came from the status page:
"Accounts suspended for cleanup. 1 day ago
Accounts affected by the “best video” exploit have been suspended for cleanup and will be restored shortly. Don’t worry, they’ll be back!" -
i hope so -
Inappropriate?There's also a page on Twitter's Help Desk where they describe the types of behavior that can result in an account getting suspended.
See http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/262...
The section on "Spam" in particular is an interesting read. -
Inappropriate?I was suspended today and I have filled out a request to be reinstated 6 hours ago. I too was using RevTwt and suspect that it could be the cause of my demise. I have already canceled my RevTwt acct, No one was clicking the links anyway. Suspending Accounts without warning is just rude. I am @MomMaven. I follow 2630 people and I have 2681 followers.
I’m Very Angry
-
Inappropriate?Similar problem here - my company's account @cogniance got suspended after we did some clean up and unfollowed ~ 200 users who we didn't think were adding any valuable / relevant posts. Very frustrating, especially now that we've gained ~ 2K followers.
I’m dissappointed and angry
-
Inappropriate?Well, everyone. I have been suspended now for 5 days. There has been nothing but computerized responses. No reasons given for shutting me down.
There are alternatives to Twitter. If I don't get some satisfaction from Twitter very soon, then I will go to these sites and make sure everyone knows how I was treated at Twitter.
Check out this link. These guys have a list with details and side-by-side comparisons of all the alternatives to Twitter.
http://homebiss.blogspot.com/2008/11/...
My latest album at www.brandtmorain.com has a song that makes fun of Rap music, which is probably why I got shut down. I have noticed that Rap Artists on Twitter who talk about all manner of vile debase human carnage have not had their accounts suspended. Perhaps I have made an error in judgement.
Twitter asks you, "What are you doing?". In my case, I guess the answer is "Absolutely nothing." So, I guess I have plenty of time to post complaints at Getsatisfaction.com
-j -
Inappropriate?I just got my account back last night! Maybe in my case, it had to do with the "Video Exploit" rather than just revtwt. I'm still going to be more careful about posting too many linked stuff. Lol! Anyway, I think it takes a combination of posting here AND posting to support. Also, just being honest about the link you post. But, I'm happy I got mine back.
I’m happy
-
Inappropriate?You know what really does not make sense to me? They said that people accused me of SPAM. Well can a person that thinks my tweets are spam not just "unfollow" me? This does not make sense...unfollow me if you do not like my tweets plain and simple. That is why I do not think there should even be limits in place. If people want to follow us they can if not they don't have to...period.
Twitter should be suspending all the people who are accusing people of SPAM and telling them "Look IDIOT...if you do not like their posts...UNFOLLOW them!"
Am I the only one that this makes sense to???
I’m confused
-
Inappropriate?Hi David.
If your ideas were implemented, then Twitter is undoubtedly concerned that they would lose many people because their accounts would become inundated with hundreds of advertisements every day. I mean, just look at email. I get 50-60 spam emails a day. It has almost rendered email worthless.
I understand Twitters concerns. What I don't like is that Twitter refuses to define the difference between acceptable Marketing and excessive Marketing (Spamming).
The very question, "What are you doing?" is inviting Marketing by definition because the answer is----"Look at me! I am interesting enough for you to follow me."
This is the very definition of self promotion which amounts to nothing more than Marketing.
So....the entire Twitter operation is a limited Self-Marketing, Self-Promoting vehicle. Yet they refuse to define the difference between reasonable Marketing and excessive Marketing (Spamming).
And then when you accidentally step on some arbitrary, and undocumented land mine, they shut you down.
This is a glaring hypocrisy. It is like selling a product without specifying the price. And then, when a client takes a guess at a price and buys your product anyway, you then refuse the order and fine him for guessing the wrong price. Then, of course, you follow up by refusing to tell the client why he was fined.
BTW. It is now day 6 since Twitter shut me down. Still no reason why. No warnings were issues prior to shut down either.
If I ran my business the way Twitter does, then I would be out of business. If Twitter continues with this practice, then undoubtedly, one of their competitors will quickly offer a more reasonable version of the service and Twitter will soon become the K-Mart of microblogging.
Are you listening Twitter??
-j -
Inappropriate?Fwiw, a friend of mine got temporarily suspended for what Twitter calls "follower churn" in their Twitter Rules page.
From: http://twitter.zendesk.com/forums/262...
"Some of the factors that we take into account when determining what conduct is considered to be spamming are
- If you have followed and unfollowed people in a short time period, particularly by automated means (aggressive follower churn);
- If you repeatedly follow and unfollow people, whether to build followers or to garner more attention for your profile;"
Apparently, some of the third-party services that are available to help us manage our followings and followers offer features like "follow everyone who tweets about X" and "unfollow everyone who does not follow me back"... which in my friend's case resulted in them following and unfollowing a lot of people in a short period of time, and resulted in them getting suspended.
Suspension was lifted eventually -- they filed a ticket at http://help.twitter.com -
Inappropriate?Once again, What is the definition of excessive follow churn?? What is the definition of "short time"?
Twitter has no documentation on churn. Everybody does it, what is the limit??
Twitter could solve all these problems by simply documenting all these limits. People don't want to hurt Twitter and people do not want their accounts suspended. So why does Twitter refuse to document these limits?
One answer is, "If your politics or opinion are one that Twitter likes, or if you are chummy with Twitter's higher-ups, then you are given free license to do whatever you want. If you are not on Twitters "A-List" then you get shut down without cause.
-j -
Inappropriate?I don't know the actual limits myself. But Twitter has said in other threads that they don't explicitly state limits because (a) spammers would tailor their behavior to avoid detection by Twitter's spam algorithms; and (b) the limits can change.
I have actually seen the limits change over time. For example, when I first signed up for my account (this was a while back), there was no limit on followings (the number of people you can follow).
Then the spammers started coming and following people in the tens of thousands, annoying so many people. After a lot of complaints, Twitter set a followings limit of 5000 per account.
So the spammers started creating multiple accounts and would max out each account by following 5000. Naturally, that led to still more complaints from people. So Twitter lowered the followings limit to 2000, and they made it so that the followings cap is lifted automatically when an account reaches 2000 followers of its own.
Naturally, the spammers evolved again, and they started to work around the 2000 limit by this follower churning behavior... they'd follow a lot of people, wait until some people followed them back, then they'd unfollow everyone who didn't follow them back to get back under 2000, and then they'd follow a new set of people. Rinse. Repeat. In response to this, Twitter added follower churn to the list of things that are grounds for suspension.
Obviously, this is not a perfect solution and the spammers continue to evolve, and I expect Twitter will continue to evolve the rules too, as they work on the spam problem.
(Sorry, I didn't mean to bore you with Twitter history -- but perhaps this gives you some perspective as to why things are the way they are, and also at least show you that while Twitter makes mistakes, they do try to improve things.)
I've personally not encountered the other limits myself, but a handful are documented here, fwiw: http://help.twitter.com/forums/10711/... -
Inappropriate?i don't what did wrong but my account got suspended why.
can somebody help me?
I’m frustrated
-
Panthera, if you haven't logged a support ticket yet, go to http://help.twitter.com, login, and click the "Submit a request" link in the upper left corner to file a help ticket. -
Inappropriate?I'm not sure why but my account has been suspended - I greatly apologize if I have done anything against the terms and conditions - it was absolutely unintentional. I do use a couple of applications to help me manage my account - I use tweetlater to auto respond to those who follow me and I was experimenting with Hummingbird to see about following others more easily by doing batch follows of those people who have similar interests to mine. This is a personal account that I post to frequently for fun but I also use it sometimes for my work as well.
-
Nancy, if you haven't logged a support ticket yet, go to http://help.twitter.com, login, and click the "Submit a request" link in the upper left corner to file a help ticket so someone from Twitter Support can look at your account. -
I did put in a ticket about 3 hours ago and it states "Awaiting assignment to a help desk operator." So, now is when the statement Patience is a virtue comes into play! :) -
Soapboxholland i've sended my ticket bout 16 hours ago and still no response.
so i think you have to wait a while longer -
did you account get unsuspended yet? -
Inappropriate?My twitter support ticket finally moved to "Being processed" state, 2 days later. Brief automated email and no additional information. This is really bad for our company publicity, we've had to remove a Twitter widget from the home page of our website while our Twitter account is suspended...
I’m pissed
-
Inappropriate?It is now over 22 hours later and my support ticket still has not even been assigned to anyone to address my suspension issue.
I’m very upset!
-
Inappropriate?I think a Class Action Law Suit is in order against Twitter. They suspend people with no warning and no explaination, they cause immeasurable damage to people's lives and they cost us each in the shame and humiliation we experience by being publicly humiliated by being Suspended!
I for one am going to file such a class action law suit. Any care to join me? We can be compensated in the millions!
I’m Dr. Doug Ikeler
-
Inappropriate?Hey Soapboxholland I have been waiting 3 days - I just wish someone would tell me what's going on
I’m waiting
-
Sam Chandler,
I know what you mean - if I knew someone was at least working on it and I had at least some confidence as to what is happening with it then I would feel better.
Soapboxholland -
Sam Chandler,
I know what you mean - if I knew someone was at least working on it and I had at least some confidence as to what is happening with it then I would feel better. -
Did you email Del or Crystal Direct? -
-
mine was @colletts and I too sincerely apologise for anything I have done - I'm going to get shot soon if I don't get it sorted! -
I just went onto the Twitter support page and put in a ticket. -
I just wish I wasn't quite so 'in the dark' I don't want to email again for fear of annoying anyone - I just want to get it sorted - if they are seriously short staffed I can offer some help remotely each day .... ;-D -
Inappropriate?It would be much nicer to obtain a solution without going to class action suits. I hate lawyers worse than anything. But, sometimes they are the only thing that works.
As I read Mdy, it occurs to me that it has become painfully clear that Twitter ongoing policy (ie: non-policy) is doing nothing to counter their Spam problem. Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and others simply say you can only send a few messages each day. Very simple, and very un-spammy.
There is something more going on here. Twitter could EASILY solve this entire problem with a few sentences in their "terms of use" agreement----something like " You can only follow 200 people in any 24 hour period", for example.
But Remember, Twitter became huge because originally there were no limits and this is what made marketing on Twitter so attractive. No limits attracted millions of people.
Now they want to curb spamming, but they know they will lose most of their original supporters if they actually announce a serious anti-spam detailed guideline.
So instead they dance around the issue, never document the rules, and this keeps marketing folks coming to the trough even today.
They can collect all manner of detail of you and your business, enter it into a valuable database which they sell or will sell, and then dump you for actually using Twitter in the manner that they advertise.
When I look at the home page of Twitter I see a quote from Wired Magazine which says, "Incredibly useful". This is designed to attract businesses and marketing folks. But if you actually use Twitter in a useful fashion, they shut you down.
BTW: It is now day 7 for me. Shut down for 7 days with no prior warnings, no reasons for being shut down, no human conversation whatesoever.
Twitter sure has caused a lot of pain for a lot of people. Maybe we ought to coin a phrase. How about, "I've Been Twitted." or maybe "I've been Tattered by Twitter." how about "Twitter treats us all like Twits".
I think the last one works the best. Think about it. A Twit is an idiot.
Perhaps that is what we all are for being sucked into the phenomenon.
-j -
This is some relief being able to chat to other Tattered sufferers -
Inappropriate?did you email direct or just use zendesk?
-
Inappropriate?When are they gonna fix this huge problem,how many people have to suffer and wait for an awnser!
I am very sad and disappointed at the whole team of twitter ,why are they not helping us?
Why are all of are accounts suspended for no good reason?
I can go on and on about the problems of twitter!
But this one is still the biggest of all why am i and other users suspended?
Twitter give me and the others an awnser,that's all i want!
Twitter please help me and the others users!
Or there will be no twitter after this problem doesn't get fixed,
100 of twitter users are being suspended without any cause at all!
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?My Boss has just been on and is like not impressed - I'm not a spammer just made a mistake cleaning up my followers. Please Help! anyone
-
Inappropriate?I emailed Del@twitter.com and he replied almost immediately. He was super helpful - he has reinstated my account. Good luck!
I’m happy
-
Inappropriate?my account, @vlauria has been suspended and I don't believe I did anything to violate the TOS.
It's been over a week, with 3 messages to support, and no word back. I will trying email del, thanks soapboxholland.
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?I have been blocked for a couple of days now. I am not a spammer either .. think twitter is good but they need to concentrate on the real issue -- those people who just spam the hell out of you!
I have posted a support ticket and written a blog .. http://www.andysweb.net/awblog
@andysmailes
Andy
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?@Soapboxholland glad you did I just emailed Del and hope for the best - I really am in trouble at work if I can't sort this one - Very happy for you!
-
Inappropriate?I followed soapboxholland's suggestion and now I'm back on twitter, thank you twitter for responding timely, I just wish that could have happened via your support channel.
I’m thankful
-
This comment was removed on 06/03/09.
see the change log -
see it only took an hour.. hopefully i get the same result..fingers crossed! -
Inappropriate?sorry sandboxholland ... not sandbox
-
Inappropriate?semi result.. just got a message from a support,
they said that
'sending multiple requests pushes the request to the bottom.'
also my account was suspended due to 'aggressive following and follower churn' and my account will be suspended for a week.I admit i got carried away trying to get followers as i enjoyed the connections i made. then i can request it is re-opened by re-opening the support ticket.
Fair enough I feel and i am happy that they have gotten back to me. I guess a week is from the email date.. to be on the safe side.
so, becareful not to email etc too much as they are busy and may not like it.
i only wish i could write back and thank them for taking the time to reply - but that will make things worse.
i shall be reopening my ticket in a one weeks time.
@andysmailes
ps sorry for bad typing as i have broken my left arm.. my blog update on this will wait until the morning.
I’m undecided
-
glad you got it back. -
Inappropriate?My account has been un-suspended. I was suspended for following too many people on one day. Anyway, I was down for 7 days.
I’m happy to be able to tweet again.
-
Inappropriate?I can't believe that I was suspended. I was just twittering away and then bam. I don't think I did anything wrong. I've submitted a reconsideration request and havent heard anything.
-
Inappropriate?@ Andy Smailes i'm in the same boat and it's great to know where we stand I'm hopeful of this coming through! It's fair enough if they re-instate you I mean I definitely wont risk it again now knowing the facts!
-
Inappropriate?Same for me – my account was suddenly suspended and I have no idea why. I wrote to support and Del and hope they can provide an answer.
Hope to get back soon, it's really hard without my account, I need it for work too.
Congrats to all of you who got back in the twitterverse!
I’m sad
-
Inappropriate?My account ManintheField was suspended a week ago and despite sending 4 e-mails to Twitter, I’ve heard nothing. I’m utterly frustrated with it!
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?Does this mean that I'm in a Black Hole within the Twitterverse? - I'm attempting humour ut I'm stll utterly frustrated with the whole thing. Not able to keep up to date with my friends and all of that stuff.
AAARRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!! -
Oh humor is the ONLY way to deal with this...otherwise you veel go zee nutzoid and nevah reeturn tuu zee sane vorld!!!!! -
Oh humor is the ONLY way to deal with this...otherwise you veel go zee nutzoid and nevah reeturn tuu zee sane vorld!!!!! -
Inappropriate?if you resubmit a ticket yours gets moved to the bottom - monday looked like they had over 2k requests...
-
Congrats and best of luck! -
Inappropriate?Del at Twitter re-activated my account within 12 hours of contacting him.
Very impressive response time. It is strange that Twitter doesn't make it plain that they have an actual support team with good folks like Del??
I have been guilty of excessive follow churning as I am attempting to promote my album. I follow all Twitter documented limits, but still ran into
trouble. Maybe one day they will announce the details of these other limits.
So, I am going to change the way I conduct myself on Twitter. It's in my nature to be aggressive. Looks like it bit me in the hind-end this time.
Thanks a million Del for your help. Perhaps you could use your influence at
Twitter to make your presence more known.
-jared @brandtmorain
So, I am happy again. I would have liked to continue with my old marketing
strategy but I understand Twitters concerns. They have to pay for bandwidth and cannot afford to have their system overrun by advertisement. One thing that occurs to me: Twitter is brand new. Perhaps all this pain is the result of growing up too fast and not mean-spiritedness. -
Inappropriate?My account @andreigirbea has be suspended for 20 days now. I sent them 2 tickets, with 7 days delay between them, and still no real answer unfortunately.
I know what probably caused the suspension. My home site was infected with a JS injection spreading malware and i got filtered out by google. I had no idea what the problem was at that time and i asked the people following me for advices concerning what was happening to my site, giving a link in the twit.
Later that day i got a message from twitter saying they deleted the reply because it contains links to a suspicious site. And after an hour or two, the account was suspended. Anyway, i fixed things down the next day with the site and everything is now back to normal, but the account is still suspended.
I emailed them and explained the problem and... after 2 weeks since i opened the first ticket i received an automatic reply saying that there were some problems with suspended accounts and everything should be fine now... but actually it's not.
So, I'm not sure what to do anymore. I really can't understand how can a service that big have such a poor support department. I mean, waiting 2 weeks for a reply is one thing, but then closing the ticket automatically without any kind of real answer... that's not really how things should be done.
So, if you could help me with any advices, please do.
I’m frustrated and confused
-
Seems to be fine now...? I'm glad. -
Inappropriate?i have a few more days to wait until i can appeal my suspension but at lest i know why i was suspended will never risk my account again. i feel like i have been away years!
well done to everyone who has their account back.
I’m anxious
-
Inappropriate?I understand I right with you
-
Inappropriate?It has been 7 days since my account was suspended ans I have reopened ticket now.. fingers crossed..
I’m anxious
-
Inappropriate?Hunny I am home.. ok.. you guessed it I am back on twitter. it has been good sharing experiences with you. hope you all have your issues resolved.
take care
@andysmailes
I’m happy
-
Inappropriate?I recieved an email from Twitter Support and it says that my account was suspended for phishing investigation.
My account is still suspended after I recieved the email.
I replied to Twitter Support wishing for reactivation but they didn't respond.
Well really. If my account is still suspended, then I will create a new Twitter account.
I’m not taking it anymore
-
Inappropriate?my Twitter account @jlfisk was suspended several days ago. I submitted a request asking them to tell me why it was suspended and how I can get it back. I worked hard to gather a nice network of followers. I don't think I did anything wrong than follow people and ask that they follow me. hat is up with this? Why haven't they responded to me?
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?my Twitter account @renardblanc is suspended on 24 days now. no response . help me please
-
Inappropriate?Kate, I do not have a single reply from Twitter yet, I suppose they are too busy tending to celebrities.
-
Inappropriate?I've had my account blocked out of the blue with NO REASON GIVEN almost a month ago. I am definitely NOT a spammer, just posting on Twitter here and there to keep up with people. WTF Twitter? I posted a support ticket but have yet to hear anything from Twitter, not even the simplest of responses. Honestly, if someone were to start a Twitter competitor with actual customer support they would wipe Twitter off the map.
I’m pissed off.
-
Inappropriate?same here, same message, same story, just trying to promote a bit of music, varied my messages, followed a few people, nothing excessive. Need Twitter to promote my music desperately , its only little old me! i'm doing my music for free as well!!
@echelon_effect
I’m frustrated
-
Inappropriate?you are just one of many.......its all bs.....if you followed too many people...or you were too busy to get back on twitter and follow back..if you used any tiny url servives well BESIDES BIY.LY ( wich twitter gets paid for every time its used ) YOU GET SUSPENDED..THEY WILL NOT UN SUSPEND ACCOUTS.....THEY WILL INFACT JUST TOTALLY IGNORE AL YOUR REQUESTS......hoe evr you can do 1 of several things either start a new account......or if ya would like clcik here..and sign up....i will not suspend anyone no matter what service they use..who they follow or do not follow....have a great day !
http://endeliz.yonkly.com -
endelizz, may I ask what your basis is for saying that Twitter gets paid for using bit.ly? -
Inappropriate?Del@twitter.com thats who fixed my twitter for me so if anyones still having problems with twitter see if he can help
-
Inappropriate?@bodybyeats account was suspended. I am in no way a spammer. I have two accounts on twitter that are in related fields. Both legit and was simply following those people to alert them of my new twitter. Came in and found my twitter account was suspended. I sent support message and it has been 3 days.
Any advice? Again not a spammer at all. No DM's or weird stuff. Just talking about powdered peanut butter ya know!
I’m very sad by the dying status of my twitter account.
-
Inappropriate?Here is what I found out. Twitter treats people like children and they cannot follow their own rules. You are allowed to follow 1000 people a day and unfollow by an equal amount. However if you actually practice it, three consecutive days or any combination thereof, you will be Suspended for "aggressive follow/unfollow". That is in essence the reply I received. Now mind you "there are different rules for different people" i.e.celebrities. Thus the 1000 per day limit would not apply to Ashton Krutcher! Equally, these suspension last a minimum of 30 days. In rare cases they will allow you to be reinstated after 7, if you admit to your wrong doing and promise not to do it again.
Mind you, it is hard to accept responsibility for wrong doing if you do not know what you have done in the first place, since Twitter will hardly reply in a timely manner. I had to have a friend contact Del to take another look at my account.
Undoubtedly either twitter cleans up it's Nazi like behaviour, or another people driven site will surpass them! -
Inappropriate?So about 13 days after I submitted a ticket, I received a reply from Twitter Support that our account has been unsuspended and should be back to normal. But it's not - still suspended, and it's been 10 days since that notification. Just emailed Del@twitter.com, per suggestions in this thread - will update once there is some movement....
I’m losing faith
Loading Profile...

















