Back in 2007 I joined a relatively unknown website called Twitter. A website developer mentioned it to me. At the time, Facebook was growing momentum to challenge what was then the leading social network, MySpace.
I had just joined Facebook, had left MySpace, and so was interested in this new ”micro blogging” site. The appeal was that you could update your status by sms and that you were only entitled to 140 characters.
Twitter back then was much different to what it is now. There were no verified accounts, no members with millions of followers. It was more of a Beta network to see how things would go.
Over the years that followed I became an avid user and fan of Twitter, and it would soon become my number one outlet of social networking. To the point where I actually left all others. By 2009, I was ”tweeting” around 20-30 times a day. I met some nice people on the site, especially as I was planning to move to a new country at the time.
Twitter became a great outlet to share my writing, connect with other professionals and speak to those who had also made the move to Sweden. This past year I’ve not been on Twitter that much. Maybe updating a few times a week.
So imagine my surprise when after nearly seven years I found that Twitter had suspended my account. I had received no warning, no emails or any indication that for whatever reason it was that they had decided that I was no longer welcome on Twitter.
Of course, my first reaction was to panic. I had amassed several thousand followers and followees and to lose them would be devastating. Instead, I decided to seek to contact Twitter. Alas, there was no email address or phone number that I could contact them on. I created another account to let my followers know I had been suspended, yet that one was also stopped a few hours later.
So I made some coffee, took a step back and did some research. I found that I was not alone.
In fact, Twitter is quick to suspend accounts for breaching their Terms Of Service (TOS). But it appears that many like me have been suspended for no reason that they are aware of. More likely that some kind of Bot is automatically searching through users activity to check for things such as
· Mass following (Twitter has rules about how many people you can follow each day)
· Mass Unfollowing (Same as above but unfollowing people in bulk is a violation also)
· Spamming
· Account compromised
Yet what is not so clear is what to do. Above all don’t panic there are some steps to take that can offer you hope.
1.Login and ensure that your account is suspended. You will know by seeing the message below and that your followers and numbers following have reached 0.
2.Go to this link and read the standard Terms about why accounts are suspended.
3.Whilst still logged in visit this page and complete this form.
BE NICE! Using text such as Twitter why the *@!! Have you ”#€ing deleted my account isn’t going to get you anywhere. My reply was simply this
”Hi! I noticed that my account was suspended. I have read all terms and conditions on your support page but cannot see any reason why I may have been suspended. I’ve certainly taken every step to ensure that my account is not breaking any rules.
I had no warning that this was going to happen. I’m a keen user of Twitter, and if you could please let me know why I was suspended then I will ensure I will take whatever steps necessary so that it does not happen again.
Thank you! Look forward to hearing from you”
4.You will then get an automatic email once this has been sent.
5.Whilst still being logged into Twitter login into this link, and you can see the status of your support ticket.
Don’t reply to soon after it’s been sent. If you do you will go right back to the start of the queue! Replying constantly about no reply is not going to help. Twitter has hundreds of millions of members and repeat sending could force the ticket to be closed without being read.
6.Ensure that any apps that you don’t recognise are removed from your profile. In your profile settings under Apps try to look for anything that contains a bulk follow/unfollow method. Remove these to say to twitter that you have been taking actions to remedy their suspension
7.Sit back and wait.
I’ve been speaking to many who, like myself, have been suspended. Some have had their accounts back in an hour; some have waited days, weeks, even months. On average Twitter is replying every 15-20 days. Remember that updating the ticket will make this wait even longer.
I’d say that the majority of suspensions are automatic and have been triggered by something that can be resolved. Some say that Twitter’s helpdesk are non-human others say they are just slow. I’d say they have a lot of work on.
So far my account has been down for two days. I’ve done all the steps above, which seems to have worked for others. I am now just going to wait.
I had a life before Twitter; I will have one whilst it’s suspended also, yet if/when it is back I will ensure I play by the rules.
For anyone in the same position, I hope the above helps. I can’t do anything except offer this advice in the hope, like me you get your accounts back.
See you in the Twitterverse!
