Comments on: When Is A Re-Tweet Not A Re-Tweet? When It’s Something I Never Actually Said

By: Stefan aka @susuh

Stefan aka @susuh — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:55:47 +0000

I stick to the following convention:

(1) “RT @username”: That is a citation in my eyes. I never alter the text or a link included. Maybe, I cut the text, while preserving the message, to make the tweet retweetable again. If possible, I mark the left out text by “[...]“.

(2) “(via @unsername)”: I use it more like a reference, as I may alter the line of the tweet but preserve the reference to the original author, who provided the thought, as well as his/her link.

(3) I aIways use the reply function to preserve the history of the tweet.

(4) If I add a comment, it starts usually after an “|” at the end.

By: Juscelino M. Acevedo

Juscelino M. Acevedo — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 10:17:38 +0000

I have no problem giving people the benefit of the doubt. However, sometimes the message may be a bit weird. I guess it does not matter, because what can you really do? .-= Juscelino M. Acevedo´s last blog ..Expert Technical Support =-.

By: Caroline Bottomley

Caroline Bottomley — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 09:58:02 +0000

a bit of a twist to the RT/via debate (agree with your distinctions by the way). I recently felt a bit hurt that someone had apparently retweeted something I’d just posted live from a very small event, but without acknowledging me with a RT or via. I’m still not entirely sure (as they haven’t replied yet), but have since realised it’s completely possibly that person was at the same very small event. Egg on face

By: Melanie

Melanie — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:54:36 +0000

Great post, Sheamus… RT seems simple enough, but as your post suggests, it’s easy to see how miscommunication can occur – reminds me of the chilhood game of “telephone”… by the end of the “line” the results can be so unrecognizable, it can be comical. I’ve witnessed one of my tweets turn into a garbled list of names and I thought it was too difficult to rectify the situation in 140 characters so I didn’t bother…

One last point about “crediting” the tweeter, I use this rule: try to credit as many people as are listed – if you must eliminte d/t character restraints, cut out the middle man… If you’re following the original tweeter directly, and space is an issue, just RT the original, as long as it’s relatively recent.

By: Sheamus

Sheamus — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:50:08 +0000

Usually it's obvious it's an honest mistake. Most people contact me immediately afterwards if they've accidentally re-tweeted me and then changed the text, because TweetDeck or Seesmic scrolled up at the time they clicked a button. Other times it happens when a person re-tweets somebody who has re-tweeted me, and then changes the text after my name, but leaves the RT @Sheamus part intact. Here's an example from earlier today, which triggered the idea for this post. I assumed it was accidental, but you could be right. I messaged the person (who isn't following me) and pointed out how it looked, but thus far have received no reply. I'd rather give the benefit of the doubt until I know otherwise.