Twitter Outage: Users Report Problems accessing the Site

Introduction

Twitter, one of the most popular social media platforms, faced a major outage on Saturday, causing inconvenience to thousands of users. Users encountered error messages and experienced intermittent issues accessing both the Twitter app and website. This blog post aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the outage, the reasons behind it, and the controversial reactions it has sparked among users.

The Twitter Outage

On Saturday, Twitter users across the globe reported problems accessing the site. Both the app and website displayed error messages such as “Rate limit exceeded” or “Cannot retrieve tweets.” Downdetector, a website that tracks online service outages, received over 7,400 reports about the issue, though the number decreased to around 2,000 by the evening. The intermittent nature of the problem added to the frustration of the affected users.

Elon Musk’s Explanation

Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, addressed the issue and provided some insight into the causes. He attributed the outage to “extreme levels of data scraping” and “system manipulation.” In response to these challenges, temporary viewing limits on tweets were implemented. Verified accounts were restricted to reading 10,000 posts per day, while unverified accounts were limited to 1,000 tweets per day. New, unverified accounts faced an even lower limit of 500 tweets per day.

Controversial Reactions to the Limits

The introduction of temporary viewing limits on Twitter has sparked controversy among users. Many argue that these restrictions serve as a tactic to push users into paying for a “verified” account, which costs $8 per month. It is seen by some as an attempt to monetize the user experience and potentially limit access for non-paying users. Critics claim that these limits may restrict the free flow of information and hinder user engagement.

Twitter Struggles Under Musk’s Leadership

Since Elon Musk took over as CEO of Twitter in October, the platform has faced numerous challenges. Notably, the site has experienced a loss of 50 of its top 100 advertisers, resulting in a significant decline in ad revenue. Moreover, there have been instances of widespread outages, where users faced difficulty accessing the platform. Reports of mass layoffs at Twitter under Musk’s leadership have further added to the concerns surrounding the company’s future.

Conclusion

The recent Twitter outage and the subsequent implementation of temporary viewing limits have raised questions about the platform’s stability and users’ experience. While these limits aim to address issues related to data scraping and system manipulation, critics argue that they may be a step towards monetizing access to Twitter. As users adapt to the changes, it remains to be seen how Twitter under Elon Musk’s leadership will overcome its challenges and regain user trust.