Do you wish the Twitter rules for dummies were short and sweet like a tweet? Your wish may be coming true. Twitter is now updating its rules about account suspensions as Elon Musk is at the helm on Twitter X. There are still some Twitter rules for dummies to know under Elon.
The one rule to be aware of today is all about violence. Any threats to it will not be tolerated on the social network.
According To Elon Musk: “The goal is a trusted digital town square, where a wide range of views are tolerated, provided people don’t break the law or spam. For example, any incitement to violence will result in account suspension.”
Table of Contents
Censorship Rules Disappearing
With the Covid-19 pandemic, Twitter began censoring tweets that they deem “could place people at a higher risk of transmitting COVID-19.” (May 2020.)
The new policy bans tweets denying expert guidance on the virus, encouraging “fake or ineffective treatments, preventions, and diagnostic techniques” as well as tweets that mislead users by pretending to be from health authorities or experts.
But with all the controversy surrounding this hot topic, who is to say who is right or wrong? Some doctors treating patients do not agree with the numbers or the treatments.
Why can’t they debate it? This is America, the land of the free, right? It was.
Love him or hate him, even the President’s tweet was taken down from Twitter. As he was later banned from the network. Did they not want the bad publicity?
Yep, he was completely taken off all social media in 2021. Big tech has censored him completely. Late last year Elon Musk reinstated the former president on the Twitter X platform.
However, it’s not just Twitter folks, it’s also Facebook, YouTube, etc. That’s why some alternative social media networks are growing.
Furthermore, some folks tweeting about this pandemic have had their Twitter accounts suspended.
However, under Elon President Trump’s account was reinstated and others that were suspended for misinformation have also been reinstated on the social network. Will Meta follow suit? There are rumors about it.
Twitter’s Take On Hate Speech
Yes, another update from Twitter in December of 2020 as things heated up before and after the election in the United States.
According to Twitter X: Our rules continually evolve to help keep people safe. Today, we’re expanding our hateful conduct policy to address language that dehumanizes people on the basis of race, ethnicity, or national origin.
However, who gets to decide what is hate speech? What one person deems hate speech another may deem it is not. There is no clear-cut answer on this one anymore.
Twitter Users Not Getting Answers – Maybe This Will Change?
Here is a sample from Jourdan who wrote to me on the blog here about his Twitter account being suspended. It’s a sample of many that I received after writing an updated post about the Twitter jail back in 2017.
After all, I too ended up in Twitter jail a few times over the years. But now other Twitter users were not getting any feedback, or so they’ve said!
More of these came to me via email since. Twitter X may be too busy these days with so many of these types of requests.
Twitter had not been as responsive as they were in the past. Some issues included:
- Not having a mobile phone number associated with their Twitter account.
- No emails are associated with their Twitter account. Or loss of passwords which is an easier fix!
- Breaking the rules 🙁 Obvious to some and not to others!
If your account has been limited – do check out the link via Twitter to help you! This link will lead to a form that submits a ticket if you cannot log in or report a problem.
And, no I do not have the phone number of Jack Dorsey or the old CEO of Twitter Parag Agrawal! However, I do see Elon Musk tweeting back at many people’s questions on the network itself.
Yes, I’ve actually been asked that several times over the recent months. Hopefully, Elon Musk and his team can remedy this in the coming weeks and months ahead.
The Twitter Commitments
So, why is Twitter doing all this now? The word is Commitment! They claim they want to be fair, informative, responsive, and accountable. Sounds great, right?
- Fair – We will enforce our rules impartially and consistently, considering the context involved.
- Informative – Twitter will inform you about actions taken against your account and why.
- Responsive – You can appeal decisions that have impacted your account.
- Accountable – We will be transparent about actions we take to promote healthy public conversation. Therefore, by publicly reporting the metrics we are using to measure health and by publishing a regular transparency report around violations of our rules.
I hope Twitter will be more responsive going forward. Anyone that has reached out to me I suggest you go thru the link above if you believe you did not break the Twitter rules! For anyone that did, I am sorry but you will not be able to get your Twitter account back.
I sure hope these Twitter rules for dummies will make it easier on you now.
What Are Some Things Twitter Deems Rule Breaking?
- NEW: media of private individuals without the permission of the person(s) depicted.
- Behavior that is directed at an individual, group, or protected category of people;
- You may not threaten violence against an individual or a group of people. We also prohibit the glorification of violence;
- And you may not threaten or promote terrorism or violent extremism;
- You may not promote or encourage suicide or self-harm;
- The report has been filed by the target of the abuse or a bystander;
- Users that have a history of violating our policies;
- The severity of the violation;
- Content that may be a topic of legitimate public interest.
- Spamming the Twitter feed.
- Direct message spamming.
- Follow and unfollow at a fast pace or through automation.
- Posting the same tweets on duplicate accounts that you own.
- Username squatting – A new term you can read more about below.
- Buying or selling usernames.
How Is Twitter Enforcing Twitter Rules For Dummies?
According to the Twitter rules page, this is what they have to say about their philosophy:
“Certain types of behavior may pose serious safety and security risks and/or result in physical, emotional, and financial hardship for the people involved. These egregious violations of Twitter Rules — such as posting violent threats, non-consensual intimate media, or content that sexually exploits children — result in the immediate and permanent suspension of an account.
Other violations could lead to a range of different steps, like requiring someone to remove the offending Tweet(s) and/or temporarily limiting their ability to post new Tweet(s).”
Twitter Rules For Dummies: Spamming The Feed
Many users do not understand the spamming term for Twitter. So, exactly what does spam to Twitter mean today?
You may not send automated Tweets or Direct Messages that are spam or otherwise engage in spamming activity.
Some examples of spammy behavior to avoid with automation include:
- Trending topics: You may not automatically post about trending topics on Twitter. That includes the use of automation to attempt to influence or manipulate trending topics.
- Multiple posts/accounts: You may not post duplicative or substantially similar tweets on one account or over multiple accounts you operate.
- Username Squatting – Please note that if an account has had no updates, no profile image, and there is no intent to mislead, it typically means there’s no name-squatting or impersonation. Note that we will not release squatted usernames except in cases of trademark infringement.
Did you know attempts to sell, buy, or solicit other forms of payment in exchange for usernames are also violations? Hence, they may result in permanent Twitter account suspension. Another reason to be familiar with Twitter rules to know.
That’s why I’ve always recommended mixing your tweets up! For example, when I schedule them with MissingLettr I try to mix up something even if ever so slight. I haven’t had my Twitter account suspended since using this social media management tool.
Many of you may know about those nasty automated DMs like Mitch Mitchell who wrote about them back in the day. Of course, I know many of you would love to see them disappear!
Automation Twitter Rules To Know
Bloggers and brands especially love automation for their tweets. As a social media manager, I cannot blame them. Social media takes time! So, what are YOU to do?
However, be sure to know the Twitter rules for dummies before you tweet away.
First, you cannot like tweets in any automated way. I’m glad I don’t even know how to do this one.
Second, bulk or aggressive re-tweeting can be in violation of the Twitter rules for dummies. Twitter states you can ” Retweet or Quote Tweet in an automated manner for entertainment, informational, or novelty purposes.” So if you are being informational, you are okay!
Third, you can not automate following or unfollowing in bulk, aggressively, or in an indiscriminate manner. Hmm, what exactly does indiscriminate manner mean? That appears a little vague to me.
Lastly, do not automate adding to lists or collections. Another task many may not even know how to do.
I see Jeff Bullas only tweeting his own stuff over and over. He can do this because he provides informational tweets. And he tweets often! (At least every 15 minutes he has a tweet in his stream.)
However,, be careful as you only have 2,400 tweets per day set by Twitter rules.
If you go over that amount, you may get a suspension if you don’t follow the Twitter rules to know.
[FREE Video Training] Learn how to structure the perfect inbound marketing campaign for your business.https://t.co/6hjdym1b9k pic.twitter.com/kOLFtMuLLP
— Jeff Bullas (@jeffbullas) June 8, 2019
What About Twitter Follower Counts in the Twitter Rules For Dummies?
- Following (daily): The technical follow limit is 400 per day. Please note that this is a technical account limit only, and there are additional rules prohibiting aggressive following behavior. But if you have an old verified account that amount is up to 1,000 per day.
- Following (account-based): Once an account is following 5,000 other accounts, additional follow attempts are limited by account-specific ratios. And, it gets more complicated than that!
- Every Twitter account can follow up to 5,000 accounts. Once you reach that number, you may need to wait until your account has more followers before you can follow additional accounts.
- This number is different for each account and is automatically calculated based on your unique ratio of followers to following. That sounds like a magic number, right?
You can read more details on Twitter by following the rules here. These Twitter rules for dummies can still be quite complicated!
Twitter Automation Tools
Does this mean you cannot use a few automation tools left to do this? If you use them to a minimum you should be fine. In fact, I’ve been using Fedica for that. They send out emails weekly that show who unfollows you and you can unfollow them when you log in.
There is a FREE version and of course, a paid version of Tweepsmap. They abide by the rules and only allow you to unfollow or follow so many peeps per day.
Thanks for the Twitter tool tip! @tweepsmap pic.twitter.com/Lld03EZHPx
— Martin Lindeskog🗽🌐💎🫖🍵🧉🙃 (@LyceumPeripatos) May 30, 2019
It will be interesting to see how Elon views these rules, follower accounts, and tools on his network going in the future.
What’s The Average Twitter Peep To Do?
Be yourself. If you want to be informative tweet with a link. Or, to be personal you can add a photo or personalized video like Ryan below.
@Lisapatb 🙂 pic.twitter.com/YHDqZuOHny
— Ryan Biddulph | Blogging From Paradise (@RyanBiddulph) February 20, 2024
Then, if you want to be funny add a video or GIF image.
— Jennifer Bridges (@JenBridgesRD) February 21, 2024
But, always be polite!
Next, be sure not to auto-follow or unfollow others. Lastly, don’t publish others’ private information or try to manipulate others via your tweets. Sounds simple, right?
If you are going to use any tools to automate your Twitter account be sure to use them sparingly. Of course, you can use scheduling tools as long as you mix up your tweets from time to time.
Can You Get An Old Twitter Username?
No, you are not able to get an old username for your name. I’d love to have Lisapats but someone registered that years ago and never used it. Twitter does NOT accept requests to obtain old user names for your Twitter handle.
However, Elon Musk has been tweeting that he is reconsidering this one in the near future.
Maybe, you could reserve your kid’s Twitter handle now? As of February 2024, there has been no change yet on this one.
Where Will The Twitter Rules Go With Elon In Charge?
There probably will fewer Twitter rules under Elon Musk. He wants it to be a town square for discussions on all sides of issues. As long as no one threatens violence they can stay on Twitter and be free to speak their thoughts.
There will be a lot less censorship and people can decide for themselves what to read, who to follow, and who to mute or block on the social network.
Now in 2024, there are still people getting suspended for things on the Twitter X network like my friend who shared her recent suspension for a swear in a tweet:
Over To You: Twitter Rules To Know For Dummies
Do you keep up with the Twitter rules for dummies or do you just tweet away? Are you using any automation tools for your tweets?
For fear that you could be suspended by Twitter, are you doing anything different today than in the past?
Now, I’d love to know more in the comments about what other Twitter rules to know today. Be sure to share this post on your favorite social networks.
She has 30+ years of experience in marketing/advertising with 11 years of experience in content marketing, social media, blogging, and SEO.
You can purchase her eBook about Twitter on Amazon.
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I’ve stopped following alot of similar websites in my niche for the hopes of a follow-back. I know mass follow/unfollow isn’t exactly kosher on Twitter, so I’ve just stopped it altogether so that I don’t jeopardize my account.
Hi Randall, I follow people once I check out their Twitter profiles if they follow me or when I notice I’ve lost quite a few followers in any given week. It’s always good to follow some fresh blood too. Thanks for your input and have a great day Randall.
Right now Twitter is a mess. There is no compass, just a vague idea of free speech. Everybody agrees to free speech, but nobody agrees how to define it. My rights are limitless…until they bump into the rights of somebody else.
The really big issue with twitter bans and other measures is that they never tell you why you’ve been banned. “Hey, here’s a list of two million things you might have done wrong. Happy guessing!”
It’s fair game to debate where to draw the line between free expression and inciting hatred, between expressing opinion and telling lies. And the people who cross the line, wherever it’s draw, probably know that’s why they’ve been put in Twitter jail.
But the rest of us have no idea why. The last time it happened to me, I was very quickly told “Oops, it was a mistake.” Other times, I never found out why. I don’t discuss politics. I don’t do automation. I will never know why my account gets restricted from time to time. Eeeny, meeny miny, moe?
And with skeleton staff at Twitter now, who will be there to say “Oops, it was a mistake” and re-instate my account the next time it happens?
Hi David, LOL, I think it’s always been like that – always vague on the rules and the suspensions they gave out. I was suspended like 4 times and never knew why. Once they emailed me I was caught up in the bots. Facebook is even worse. I was shut down there for no reason and still don’t know why to this day, I was reinstated after 10 days. I have clients that lost their pages for no known reason. Nothing political whatsoever, just business. I think Elon will make Twitter better as he hires new people hopefully without any agendas. Free speech allows anyone to say anything and then everyone has to find out if it’s true or not. It gets harder with the media all so biased these days on both sides to find fact from fiction. However, I will say a lot of times rumors do tend to have some truth to them. One thing is for sure David: time will tell! Thanks for your input on Twitter here, I appreciate it. Have a great day and week ahead.
I agree with David.
It’s like Musk bought another toy to just “play” with it.
It really looks like it, right now.
Many big names are leaving. I’m checking out Mastodon.
I applied for the SEO server (and I was accepted a few days ago).
Are you there too?
Hi Erik, I disagree although I was not pleased with how he released the Twitter notes over an hour late a few days ago. (I believe being prompt is important!) Time will tell. If anyone can turn Twitter around it would be Elon Musk. He runs 3 major companies so he is no dummy! Tesla and SpaceX are hugely successful technology companies.
I’m not on Mastodon as I’m on Minds and it is similar and decentralized. I’ve been on it a few years though not as active as on Twitter or Instagram. Maybe I will read about this one on your blog soon 🙂 Thanks for coming by Erik and have a great day.
Hello Lisa,
You have shared masterpiece informative post and folks must need to know these things. You have explained each and everything regarding guidelines of Twitter.
Twitter’s new policies seem like a decent starting point, many users don’t believe the company will actually enforce the rules it has laid out.
Eventually, thanks for sharing your informative experience with us.
With best wishes,
Amar Kumar
Hi Amar, thank you. The Twitter rules are quite a few and gray. Sometimes it can be hard to decipher exactly what they mean so if you are unsure better to err on the side of caution. Do make it a great day Amar 🙂
I’m constantly getting the problem of being mistaken for a spam account just because of liking a lot of post, and I’m not sure what the limit or spacing between likes should be…
It’s getting really frustrating how often my account is suspended for about a month for the same thing.
And I even don’t like every post I see or do it indiscriminately.
And it’s not like there’s some warning or disclaimer on how much you should like.
Hi Nicole, how many likes do you do in a day? That could be an issue if you are liking too many posts. So you have gotten your Twitter account back? Thanks for coming by on this one and I’d love to know more!
Hi Lisa,
Why is it so difficult for Twitter to just publish a clear cut number-ratio, or range of likes per day that’s considered within the norm; so people can be more cognizant of it, if it’s so important? I mean, if they gave us daily follow/unfollow limits to abide by, why stop there? We could all use a break from the drama, and endless guesswork this is causing.
Also frustrating: Twitter’s new rule changes in September, that are more vague and open ended; especially with what they consider “Platform Manipulation,” leaving it open to misinterpretation. And at the same time, the number of ominous suspensions of peep’s accounts has suddenly boomed, and no one seems to know why. There are literally mass-disappearances of accounts overnight. People want to know if it could be over the participation in “shout outs,” and “mentions,” or for tagging more than 5 people in a tweet. But none of this is discussed in Twitter’s rules.
Twitter also doesn’t tell you how many times in a day you can reply to someone saying, “hello,” or “goodnight,” or a similar sentiment; what is the numerical version of “too many,” or what would be considered within the “normal range”? Does using emojis set off Twitter enforcement, is there a limit to their use per day, or per tweet? Twitter obviously has a numerical value in mind when they suspend you for exceeding it, so why not just tell us what it is? Bar graphs are a simple way to communicate this kind of info. Otherwise, it’s kind of like they’re handing out speeding tickets and impounding vehicles, without first posting the speed limit.
Hi Tamar,
I agree with you! Twitter’s rules are very gray and they do not pinpoint exactly what one does wrong to be suspended. You are correct that it is like getting a speeding ticket with no speed limit! Great analogy there 🙂
My last suspension I suspected it was because I was being tagged by some who tagged too many in each post. I call them like “chain tweets” like old “chain emails” where they send the same thing to everyone.
I do hope in the coming year and future that Twitter does expound upon their rules so we all know exactly where we stand with them. The only obvious ones are hate speech, discrimination and things of that nature. (Common sense stuff to most.)
Thanks for coming by on this one and I’m sorry there is no clear cut answers to the question Tamar!
Hey lisa,
Thanks for explaning such a rare article defining rules to be followed on twitter.
Looks like now i need some guidelines to work upon.
Great share!!!
Hi Rahual, you are most welcome. How long have you been using Twitter? Thanks for coming by and have a great day 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for putting this together. It explained some things I haven’t really given thought to.
I prefer to keep it simple when it comes to social media (well, and life in general).
I post whatever work I’ve done (which usually amounts to one or two posts per day for that) and occasionally engage in some conversation. I don’t understand robotic behavior, but, of course, I see it happens all the time.
Have a great weekend 🙂
D –
You are most welcome Dana, nice to see you here 🙂 Simple is nice! I do like scheduling and using Triberr. Are you part of Triberr? It’s a simple one to set up. We’ll have to chat! Have a great weekend too – the sun is finally coming out here 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for this useful list of Twitter rules. I’ve not taken much notice of rules to be honest, although I’ve tried to use common sense.
I do use a tool for automation of posts, but so far I haven’t had any problems as I’m not a heavy tweeter!
Joy Healey – Blogging After Dark
Hi Joy, you are most welcome 🙂 Common sense will go a long way on Twitter too. How often do you tweet out from your schedule Joy? Thanks for coming by and have a great day.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for listing all these Twitter rules. Reading through I just can’t believe how people want to spam and automate like crazy. I like the rules Twitter has enforced. It keeps things real and fresh. We are there to connect with others as well as our own benefits. I like playing by the rules and its great to know all of them listed here. I thank you,
-Donna
You are most welcome Donna! Oh yes, people are certainly always trying to “Game” the system. I do use Triberr and Agorapulse to schedule and IFTT to thank new followers. The rest is all live for me right now 🙂 I agree. Hoping your weekend is going well! Thanks for coming by on this one Donna.
Thanks for the info, Lisa! This is a bit concerning: “You may not post duplicative or substantially similar tweets on one account” – guilty! I also use dlvr.it to automatically share content from other bloggers. Here’s hoping Twitter doesn’t throw me in jail. 😛
Hi Debbie, You are fine with dlvr.it – I see many using that one. I have to look into it, I like how quick it tweets new blog posts out! I also use Agorapulse and even Buffer from time to time. And of course, Triberr. It’s a just the matter of same tweets from 2 accounts. I don’t use my @InspireToThrive as much but am finding ways to make it different from @Lisapatb – tough choices! Thanks for coming by on this and sharing. I hope you have a great weekend Debbie 🙂
Informative – Twitter will inform you about actions taken against your account and why.
This point above is good, as it will help people identify the issue, only if they honor this statement.
Apart from that, it requires a strong algorithm to honor those 400/day and 1000/day limits. Because some people genuinely get more followers at a higher pace. But for normal accounts, it is fine, because if a normal account is getting more then 400 followers a day is suspicious.
5,000 accounts limit is also pretty fine.
Hi Shaheer, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. Thank you. Yes, you are correct, getting more than 400 followers per day is quite suspicious behavior! Many people who have reached to me claimed they did not get a response from Twitter. Even when mine was suspended for 3 days years ago they didn’t say why. But then emailed me that my account was caught up in their bots. Thank for your input and have a great weekend ahead Shaheer!
hahaha, that is why I said only if they honor their statements. 🙂
But what can they do, lots of spam going on and their bots might still be in the learning phase. 🙂
Hi Shaheer, yes, those bots certainly do get in the way on Twitter today. But Twitter seems to be a doing a great job today handling them 🙂
Twitter is definitely trying hard to become a good repository of ideas. Often I spend many time on twitter and usually I click a lot.
So twitter will show me a captcha to confirm that I am not a bot.
All their rules, restriction and such are for the betterment of the platform. I guess if you are going to lurk down there, you better be aware of this and adapt to this.
Hi Rohan, interesting, I have not seen that when I click on Twitter. Were you clicking on links in the tweets or on people’s profiles? Thanks for your input on this one. Love to know where you were clicking. I hope you have a great day!
First, thanks for mentioning me!
Second, I’ve hoped for almost a decade to get mitchmitchell as a Twitter handle. The person who created it has never used it; the weasel! lol
Third, I love Twitter, but I see people doing stupid things that get them banned almost daily. Twitter’s not all that hard to use, and it’s great for meeting people. True, sometimes Twitter jumps the gun on someone innocent, but there’s so much stupid automation that I’m surprised more people aren’t bumped off.
Hi Mitch, you are most welcome. We’ve been tweeting for years there since I’ve started blogging 🙂 Yes, that’s like the one I wanted too 🙁 Yes, they used to jump the gun a lot and now it seems people will try anything for promotion or just plain stupidity! Thanks for coming by on this one Mitch and I hope you enjoy your evening there!
Lisa: Thanks for including my tweet with the question regarding Twitter’s follow limit rule and how to find tools for handling your followers and fellow Twitter users.
We will talk more about Twitter in the near future… 😉
Hi Martin, you are most welcome. Have you tried out that tool? I do use it but sparingly here and there. I also love how Agorapulse shows me who follows or not too now 🙂 Thanks for coming by and talk soon more about Twitter!
Lisa: I registered for the tool, but I haven’t used it much. I need to unfollow some followers, in order to be able to follow new tweeps.
We will talk about tools for this matter in the near future! 🙂
Hi Lisa, didn’t know you got Penalized a couple of times before. If an expert on Twitter marketing get booked for violating the rules, it means that no one is safe ???. However, you’re right. I tried to get Mossmedia as my username but someone got it already but not seeing him on Twitter.
It vital to know these point and be ready for what might come next.
Thank you.
Hi Moss, you didn’t remember that? It was a 3 day suspension. Many have over the years. I wish Twitter could do something more for those old usernames. You are welcome and have a great rest of the week Moss 🙂
Hi Lisa,
Great post!
Twitter doesn’t to ban people, but they will if they have to. It’s their business and we have to follow along. Simple as that.
But also, these rules are not very string. just be authentic in your communication and you’ll be fine.
Hi Nikola, thank you. Yes, they seem to be more. I don’t understand why many people don’t understand the basic rules. I agree – it’s their business and since we don’t pay to be in the space, we must abide by their rules. Being authentic is the ONLY way to go Nikola. I hope you are off to a great start this week 🙂
Super breakdown Lisa. I found if you chat with people a bunch and act naturally, Twitter sees you are human, using Twitter for the right reasons, add value, you look good for the brand and yep, you avoid being suspended. Simple if you really have fun on the platform.
Hi Ryan, thank you. I just saw you had Britney Spears follow you! Very cool. How do you think that happened? Being a real human is the key to Twitter today, No more of those massive automation tactics that were used years ago to game the system! I’m happy about that 🙂 Thanks for coming by and enjoy the rest of your day or possible nighttime there Ryan. How many hours are you from the East Coast now?
Hello Lisa,
Thanks for writing this awesome post. Twitter is definitely a great Social Media site after Facebook and I am a big fan of it. However, understanding the rules of Twitter is very important as it helps you to make most out of your twitter account. Thanks for sharing this helpful post.
Regards,
Vishwajeet
Hi Vishwajeet, you are most welcome. Had you hear about the updated rules prior? I hope it makes it simplier for those that have had issues in the past with using the social network and the tools to automate. Thanks for coming by and sharing with your network Vishwajeet. I hope you have a great day 🙂
Thanks for this post. I have experience the suspension twice and now I think I know where the problem lies. This post means much
Hi Warabayi, welcome to Inspire To Thrive. You are most welcome 🙂 Did you get your account back now or have you started up another one on Twitter? Thanks for taking the time to comment here and have a great day. Happy and safe tweeting!