Verified Users Now Identified


Posted by Si Dawson on 17/01/13 in Improvements

Verified users will now appear on the report with a blue verified badge next to them, thus:

verified_user

The important thing to know about Twitter's verification process is this:

All verification does is prove that the user is who they say they are.

Eg, the user above is very definitely @DCBrockLesnar - UFC Heavyweight Brock Lesnar.

This is why @barackobama is verified (it's the account of the current US President), and @obamabarack is not (it's just some random dude).

So yes, it's quite common for people to be verified (who they say they are), but still dodgy (behaving badly). Up to you to decide just how badly (and whether they merit an unfollow), of course.

And in case you're curious, no, Twitter does not accept requests for verification. Sad but true.

New Category: Not Following Back


Posted by Si Dawson on 12/01/13 in Improvements

Someone not following you back isn't, strictly speaking, dodgy.

However, you asked, so (after three years of debating it with myself) I've delivered. It was only a couple of hours work, but I really don't want to do anything that will make Twitter a worse place for us all. Hence mulling it for so long. Frankly, even now I'm still a little undecided.

Accounts will only appear in this category if they don't already appear in one of the other categories.

The category is ordered by time. Those you followed first appear first, with the most recent follows at the end. Unfortunately, we can't get the exact follow dates, since Twitter doesn't provide this information.

The usual caveats apply. Someone who's not following you back won't appear on your report if:

  1. You have them on one of your lists
  2. You have talked to them (or they to you) recently
  3. (more on this later) you have them whitelisted

And, as usual, if you don't agree with the category, or you think it's all a load of baloney, please feel free to ignore it completely.