By Denise Fernandez
You may have noticed something off with your Twitter account today. The social media platform is testing out a new feature with a number of selected users. And nope, it’s not a new edit button, unfortunately. Twitter is lengthening its character limit, doubling it from 140 to a 280–meaning you can tweet a hell of a lot more than you usually do within one post.
Can’t fit your Tweet into 140 characters? ?
We’re trying something new with a small group, and increasing the character limit to 280! Excited about the possibilities? Read our blog to find out how it all adds up. ?https://t.co/C6hjsB9nbL
— Twitter (@Twitter) September 26, 2017
Twitter users pretty much went ham after Jack Dorsey, founder and CEO of Twitter, tweeted about the upcoming change using far more than the 140 characters we’ve grown so used to.
This is a small change, but a big move for us. 140 was an arbitrary choice based on the 160 character SMS limit. Proud of how thoughtful the team has been in solving a real problem people have when trying to tweet. And at the same time maintaining our brevity, speed, and essence! https://t.co/TuHj51MsTu
— jack (@jack) September 26, 2017
And of course, Twitter users, being Twitter users, gave their feedback, and a lot of them weren’t so nice. But they were all also really creative. From utilizing the new feature to make a point to just making snarky commentary, this goes to show that the good people of Twitter are extremely witty.
Here are our favorite reactions about it:
Oh no they actually gave me 280 characters. Now the joke is ruined and I don’t know what to do with all of this space. What did I use to say on twitter? HOW DO I STILL HAVE MORE CHARACTERS??? this limit is way too big. Jesus, still not over? Did I used to have thoughts this long?
— Joseph Fink ??? (@PlanetofFinks) September 27, 2017
you, a fool: must keep all tweets underneath a 140 character limit or else you are cut off
me, an intellectual: capable of tweets longer than youve ever imagined. can fit twice the amount of words in a single tweet. my power has no limits. twitter can not cage me. i am unstoppab
— Ali (@Azniac) September 27, 2017
old twitter: send nudes bb
new 280 char twitter: dearest Penelope, it’s been a harsh winter’s time since thou booty has graced thy screen
— Licensed Esthetician (@SortaBad) September 26, 2017
(•_•)
<) )╯now
/ \\(•_•)
( (> i can
/ \(•_•)
<) )> do
/ \
(•_•)
<) )╯a bunch
/ \\(•_•)
( (> of
/ \(•_•)
<) )> these
/ \
(•_•)
<) )╯sassy
/ \\(•_•)
( (> friends
/ \(•_•)
<) )> i guess
/ \— andrea grimes (@andreagrimes) September 27, 2017
TWITTER USERS: It would be nice if you stopped people making death threats.
TWITTER: OK, but what if those death threats could be LONGER?
— Mike Drucker (@MikeDrucker) September 26, 2017
literally my only talent was being able to think of tweets exactly 140 characters long. i don’t know if I will be able to alter this to 280.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 26, 2017
One VICE editor even went as far as copyediting Jack’s entire tweet.
139 characters pic.twitter.com/WkfdXL8oLh
— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly) September 26, 2017
Then we have another editor who joked about everyone being so against the 280 character limit.
The 280-character limit is a terrible idea. The whole beauty of Twitter is that it forces you to express your ideas concisely (1/47)
— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik) September 26, 2017
But like this popular social media-savvy Jesuit priest, a lot of us just have mixed feelings.
I’m not sure I like the newly expanded Twitter. On the one hand, it allows for more explanation and nuance, as well as better grammar. On the other, there’s a benefit to brevity. It’s like the old saw about preaching: “I’m sorry, but I didn’t have time to prepare a short homily.”
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) September 27, 2017
What do you think about the new Twitter limit? Tweet us at @scoutmagph
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