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Twitter Testing Non-Chronological Timelines (vice.com)

sarahnaomi writes with this excerpt from Motherboard: Brace yourself, because your favorite social media platform might get turned on its head: Twitter is experimenting with a new way of sorting your timeline that breaks with the reverse-chronological format it has used since its inception. Certain users have already been selected for testing, and a Twitter search for "timeline out of order" revealed a lot of confused Tweeters. A Twitter spokesperson confirmed via email that this is "an experiment. We're continuing to explore ways to surface the best content for people using Twitter." Presumably, Twitter is working with algorithms similar to the ones Facebook uses to order items on your News Feed. I curse the name of Zuckerberg each time I realize that my view of Facebook has been switched from "Most Recent" to "Top Stories" -- Top Stories according to whom?

83 comments

  1. Top Stories according to whom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Troll

    Do not question the masters. Going against the narrative will only get you flagged for suspicion of being too white or to male.

    1. Re:Top Stories according to whom? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      for suspicion of being too white or to male.

      ... or two fucking ignorant.

  2. Configurable by ardmhacha · · Score: 4, Insightful

    It should be configurable.

    If I want it reverse-chronological format the I should be able to set that and not have it changed. If twitter wants to offer a bunch of other configuration options then they should be configurable as well.

    Same with Facebook, if I pick Most Recent then leave it Most Recent.

    1. Re:Configurable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      That only makes sense if what the user wants to see is the website's top priority. Why would you expect that of either Twitter or Facebook?

    2. Re:Configurable by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Congratulations! You just invented SQL

    3. Re:Configurable by Zeroko · · Score: 1

      Not having used Twitter but having used Facebook, I want to know: When are they going to implement sorting by what my brain perceives as chronology? (For me personally, it is something like similarity to the present state rather than having anything at all to do with physical time...so yesterday can seem much longer ago than some event 5 or 10 years ago if the latter is more "relevant" at the moment, & then switch around when I think of something else.)

  3. Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

    Non-chronological timelines sounds like something out of Dr Who.

    I think the big problem here is the world feels it needs to get all breathless and concerned over Twitter changing this.

    On behalf of those of us who have never used Twitter ... whatever. Do let us know if they change the font, too.

    --
    Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    1. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      On behalf of those of us who have never used Twitter ... whatever. Do let us know if they change the font, too.

      Yes indeed. I've managed to get this far without either Twitter and Facebook, and it looks like a good decision so far.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    2. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 1

      I still don't know any person personally who uses Twitter. I view the entire topic as a constant, unending ad scheme designed to get me to use this thing I can't find any purpose for. Except, apparently, to get myself in trouble.

    3. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by retroworks · · Score: 2

      I didn't understand how to use Twitter for almost a year... I was reading posts of people I followed. Then ... I got it. It's about the search box in the top right corner. Enter something professional which is rare, esoteric, something like "small indonesian bananas" or maybe "firefox spyware" and you can actually meet people who know something about it, share the interest, people you'd never have known about, much faster than if you rely on publications or blogs. If a journalist writes a story which is nonsense, you can tag links with keywords and find dozens of people who are now aware of the nonsense and who comment on it, and editors find out.

      --
      Gently reply
    4. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Me, I will never type anything even resembling "small indonesian bananas" into a search field.

      Rule #34 and all that.

      But seriously, if you wish to find communities of random people you'd never have known about on the intertubes who feel the need to comment on random crap nobody actually cares about, well, it sounds like Twitter is perfect for you.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    5. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you don't care then why post? You are not really adding anything.
      Move along? This is important to some people?

    6. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by R3d+M3rcury · · Score: 1

      I don't use twitter but a friend of mine does.

      To me, one of the interesting issues regarding twitter is TV spoilers. She's remarked a few times that she has to be very careful reading her twitter feed when there is "an important episode" of a TV show. I remarked that I'm surprised that twitter doesn't have some way to say "Don't show me any tweets with this hashtag until after my local time." So if you tweet something at 8:30PM ET, I won't see it until 8:30PM PT.

      I'm not sure what they mean by "non-chronological timelines"--sounds kind of oxymoronic as "non-chronological" would be not related to time so how can you have a timeline which is not related to time? Isn't that just a list?

    7. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by KGIII · · Score: 1

      When the service was first announced, I went there. I think I even got an account. I don't believe that I've ever used the account. I suspect that I no longer control that domain name and no longer have access to that email.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
    8. Re:Hmmm ...Timey Wimey then? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Non-chronological timelines sounds like something out of Dr Who.

      It makes as much sense as a non-linear ruler or a non-angular protractor.

      P.S. I consider reverse chronological to still be chronological.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  4. Seems like all social media ignores the obvious by elvesrus · · Score: 3, Interesting

    An option to see everything since last checked from oldest to newest.

    1. Re:Seems like all social media ignores the obvious by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      While that sounds rational, useful, and informative, it will never be a part of social media. First off, that's what email does, and we all know email isn't hip. Secondly, having to pay attention to anything provably more than 29 seconds old is totally uncool, so all that stuff gets shoved off the bottom of the screen. Also, keeping track of actual discussions could lead to a reduction in ignorant emotional replies, coherent thought is for squares. Finally, in the off chance that anyone watches few enough others that they might be able to actually keep track of what a friend is up to, it is the responsibility of social media to resolve that most distinctly not rad behavior by filling in 180% of the empty space with advertisements and 'you might know this person' psuedo-posts.

    2. Re:Seems like all social media ignores the obvious by rockmuelle · · Score: 1

      I think it's actually simpler than that. I don't think Facebook can technically do it.

      You can look at the ordering and filtering issues from two perspectives:

      1) It's a great feature for the user to de-clutter their timeline and show them relevant posts.
      2) Showing every post to each user and giving users more custom filtering tools is actually technically challenging due to the underlying architecture of Facebook

      My money's on option 2. That's not to say that you couldn't architect a system that does exactly that, but I suspect Facebook is too far invested in their platform to change things drastically.

      -Chris

    3. Re:Seems like all social media ignores the obvious by enjar · · Score: 1

      You could go all crazy with this idea. Add the ability to sort by interest/category/theme, and then add the ability to have threaded conversations, and you'll have re-invented newsgroups.

  5. Most Recent by darkain · · Score: 4, Informative

    For that last note: on Facebook, "Most Recent" isn't actually the most recent posts at all. A couple things are happening. Firstly, it is the "Most recently interacted with", meaning if something is commented on, it jumps to the front of the line. Next, Facebook selects aprox 320 posts to show each user, with new content appearing every now and then, and content being removed after about 24-72 hours. Even if you follow 1000 pages posting once a day, Facebook will only select the aprox 320 that it thinks you want. From here, "Most Recent" then only becomes the most recent of this smaller selection, not all posts from your potential feed. So when Facebook switches between "Top Stories" and "Most Recent", you're honestly not getting anything new/different between the two, just sorting smaller segment of your feed that it deems you should be able to view.

    1. Re:Most Recent by fustakrakich · · Score: 1

      After logging in, this link will always take you to the "most recent"...

      --
      “He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
    2. Re:Most Recent by Knightman · · Score: 1

      If you get more than 320 posts on a day in your feed you either have a couple of friends that has nothing better to do than post/sharing junk on facebook OR you have nothing better to do and are friending everyone or subscribing to anything that crosses your path.

      --
      --- Reality doesn't care about your opinions, it happens anyway and if you are in the way you'll get squished.
  6. Calm down now by CimmerianX · · Score: 1

    What did all you twitter people think was going to happen to a free site? They have to make money somehow, and putting 'top stories' in front of your eyes is a good way of doing that.

    So don't get all your panties in a bunch.

    Those of us who never used twitter don't care.

    Those who do, if it matters, then find another mass social media 'thing'.

    Remember, twitter doesn't 'belong to the world', it belongs to twitter and they can do what they want with their systems.

    1. Re:Calm down now by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

      You should become a user and experience the change, before saying such things. I'm not complaining about promoted tweets, or even ads. Those are obviously needed, for a revenue stream. I, and any other twitter users I know that have this out-of-order crap, are complaining that the implementation is bad ("while you were away" doesn't actually know when I last checked my feed somehow, thus shows me things much further in the past than while I was away) and it promotes stuff for which they're not making any money. Literally, there's a particular person on my twitter feed that is admittedly very attractive, yet...I really only want to see her chronologically. I don't want her posts pushed to the top over and over (especially in the "while you were away" section) when I know her personally and I know she's not promoting it. They're not doing it for revenue. They're simply trying to do a particular new sorting method and they're implementing it *horribly*

    2. Re:Calm down now by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      probably based on how often you masturbate to her pics

  7. I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by dAzED1 · · Score: 2

    Problem 1: they don't keep track across devices. If I log in from one web browser and see new notifications, it's not uncommon for me to then log on via a different web browser half a day later and some of those notifications are back to being new again. Bah. What does this have to do with this "news" from TFA? Apparently I was part of the "test group" unfortunately, because I've been getting this out-of-order crap for a long while. If I check twitter from my phone in the morning and catch up on everything, then in the evening I have to wade through a lot of "while you were away" crap that was posted days ago despite my having logged on hours before, and then I can't find what was actually posted since the last time I was logged on...that's not "confusion." That's a mix of "completely idiotic UX," "very poor backend tracking of what has already been viewed," and "extremely poor guesses as to what I might be interested in, elevating feeds in which I'm only marginally interested while obfuscating those in which I have a lot of interest." I suspect that third one has to do with how many likes/whatever the person has, but...sometimes people are interested in someone for different reasons. I follow comedians, and if personX is funnier than personY, but personY looks awesome in a bikini, then that doesn't mean I want you to blare personY's posts at me and hide personX's posts... I'm in SoCal, if I want to see a really fit girl in a bikini, I walk outside and look in any direction.

    1. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you wake up and check Twitter on your phone, check your ironic beard, slide into some skinny jeans, and then ride your fixie bike to Starbucks?

    2. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

      Nope. I do currently have a beard, but it's because my right arm was destroyed in an accident I had on my harley a few months ago. I check twitter when I want to find out if a comedian I like has a show in the next day or two, which means I might check it a few times in a particular day but then not check it again for a few weeks. Checking it in the morning, just to have bloody Kate Quigley's boobs all over by the afternoon again when Erica's post goes into hiding somewhere 5,000 posts down (despite being posted 5 minutes ago, to Kate's posting yesterday) means I am no longer getting from Twitter what it gave me before. And imagine a new Arab Spring, where the posts get hidden by some stupid posts you already farking read days before and is suddenly "while you were away" again? Thanks for playing, though. (ps I do make craft mead, and want to make a meadery, so if you want to call me a hipster based on not liking Twitter's crappy implementation of a crappy idea, fine)

    3. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you wake up and check Twitter on your phone, check your ironic beard, slide into some skinny jeans, and then ride your fixie bike to Starbucks?

      Yes, yes I do. Ironic? Very.

    4. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      Do you wake up and check Twitter on your phone, check your ironic beard, slide into some skinny jeans, and then ride your fixie bike to Starbucks?

      pssst, that's Instagram. Twitter is for people to attempt to ruin their lives in as few characters as possible.

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    5. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Damn, my condolences! I'm not sure who Kate Quigley is, but I support your efforts to not see her boobs more than once.

    6. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My god he rides a Harley, is not resourceful enough to shave left-handed, and makes Mead. AND he begrudgingly says "if that makes me a damn hipster, then fine!"

      Well, yes.

    7. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

      it's not a lack of resourcefulness, I'm simply working from home a lot lately and not seeing anyone; a week of not shaving, and I have a thick beard. Sorry. And since when does riding a harley make someone a hipster? I'd never owner a single-geared bike, nor even call it by a cute name; prior to my birth someone invented the concept of multiple gears on a bicycle, and when I go biking I appreciate being able to change those gears. I've lost track of what people with an extremely limited view of what I do and who I am will then use to declare me or anyone else a "hipster" though, probably because I'm too old or too uninterested in such things. It's also irrelevant - "while you were away" does not show me things which happened "while I was away" - it consistently shows me things I've already seen, yet which were posted days ago and are now at the top of the feed for some idiotic reason. A crappy idea is one thing, but a coupling it with a really crappy implementation...

    8. Re:I wasn't confused, I just hated it. by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

      *shakes tiny impotent fist of rage in your direction*

  8. Why? by Sable+Drakon · · Score: 2

    If this happens to my account, I'm calling Twitter out on it. I hate this behavior from Facebook, to the point that I don't even go to the site anymore. If I wanted anything other than most recent at the top, I'd set that myself. Not let some half-wit algorithm dictate what's most relevant in respect to my social media experience. I want to be the half-wit in charge of what's most relevant on my Twitter and Facebook timelines.

    --
    The Amarri pray for god, the Caldari pray for profit. the Gallente pray for peace, but the Minmatar pray their ships hol
    1. Re:Why? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      I want to be the half-wit in charge of what's most relevant on my Twitter and Facebook timelines.

      Oh, we're sorry, but only officially approved half-wits are allowed to make such monumental decisions.

      Because the reality is those decisions are being made to optimize ad revenue. What you want is irrelevant.

      How much do you pay for Twitter? Because that's how much Twitter gives a crap about what you want.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    2. Re:Why? by Sable+Drakon · · Score: 1

      It may be free, but their ad revenue is directly proportional to their users. If the users leave, because of stupid choices on the part of the service, that revenue dries up and the company goes under. So they should take care not to alienate their users. Once they do, something else that does the same thing as 'Classic Twitter' will come along and everyone will leave the old service for the new service. Shall I remind you of 'New Coke'?

      --
      The Amarri pray for god, the Caldari pray for profit. the Gallente pray for peace, but the Minmatar pray their ships hol
    3. Re:Why? by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Sure, people could do that.

      And if someone build tried to build this "classic twitter" which has none of the content, and is therefore an empty system with no users, no data, no tweets ... no NOTHING.

      You're right, the value is in the user base. Which means a new competitor is starting with an empty system nobody will want.

      Which means they'll continue to do as they please, and gamble that the value is in things people have already posted or been following. And nobody will leave because an empty system which gives you a reverse chronology is pretty worthless.

      A competitor to Twitter will simply never grow the same as the existing one. Which will make it some Twitter-like thing with no inherent value.

      Your analogy is flawed, because Coke created New Coke. You can't have someone created "Twaddle, mostly kinda like Twitter, but new and utterly lacking in content" and expect it to suddenly replace something which years of history like Twitter.

      These things grew because they were the first/most popular. And then they have their own inertia and momentum; simply creating something which mostly works the same doesn't give you the data which is now the value of Twitter.

      A brand new social media platform nobody has adopted yet isn't a magic thing which suddenly has the same users and same content. Which means you'd be hoping the world recreates the way in which Twitter became popular and adopt it.

      All for, what? A reverse chronological timeline? Yeah, good luck with that.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    4. Re:Why? by Coisiche · · Score: 1

      It seems counter to anything that Twitter is useful for. I signed up in the first place for a travel information feed and the information I get from that is no fucking use if I'm not seeing the most recent incidents reported.

  9. Isn't it ironic? by dAzED1 · · Score: 2

    Isn't it a bit ironic, don't you think, for there to be a slashdot discussion about a website that dramatically changes a loved posting and discussion format, into one that is widely despised, despite overwhelming feedback against the change? I remember back when I could see, in my profile, how many responses my posts had...and could easily find and respond to them...and when I wasn't given a teeny tiny little box into which to type my responses, with an entire empty webpage staring at me in all the other directions of the screen. And and and...get off my lawn, you damn kids! ;)

    1. Re:Isn't it ironic? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      I see what you did there.

      (I had to zoom to 200% first...)

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  10. Who are the users? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    Certain users have already been selected for testing, and a Twitter search for "timeline out of order" revealed a lot of confused Tweeters. A

    The summary is perpetuating the fundamentally flawed notion that the people who tweet, read tweets and re-tweets are the "users". The fact of the matter is they are the "used"s. The site twitter.com is the user, the tweeters are the useds. Sooner we get used to the notion, sooner we make all understand this relationship, better it would be for all.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Who are the users? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      It's a COOKBOOK! It's a COOKBOOK!

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:Who are the users? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I hope you either A) Don't seriously believe that is true or B) Don't work on use-cases for any software projects

      And before the "OMG NAIVE NOOB ALERT" posts come in ... yes, I'm aware of advertising. I don't have a Soviet-Russia-like phobia of it as many here seem to.

    3. Re:Who are the users? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Uh... moo? Cookbooks are for cows?

  11. "Certain users have already been selected..." by willoughby · · Score: 1

    As opposed to uncertain users, I guess...

  12. All good things... by ZorinLynx · · Score: 1

    All good things come to an end. I'm convinced of this. Nothing cool like Twitter can exist long before idiots try to ruin it.

    This is making me less excited about new sites and tech as I get older because I know that if I use it and get to love it, it will be ruined right under my nose. Kinda depressing, no?

    Another example is the Music app on iOS. It was beautiful and perfect, and Apple f**ked it all up and made it ugly, overly complex and glitchy.

    Nothing good lasts forever.

    1. Re:All good things... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Nothing cool like Twitter can exist long before idiots try to ruin it.

      Please let this be sarcasm. Please let this be sarcasm. Please let this be sarcasm.

  13. "surfacing new content" by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2

    "ways to surface the best content" - yet another piece of market-speak. Hint - if you have to resort to market-speak, you're doing a sh*tty job somewhere along the line.

    --
    "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    1. Re:"surfacing new content" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "ways to surface the best content" - yet another piece of market-speak. Hint - if you have to resort to market-speak, you're doing a sh*tty job somewhere along the line.

      Market-speak is orthogonal to quality. I completely agree that it may be used to bolster shit, but without it, good work still languishes. It's a sad reality of life.

      Market-speak is not a red-flag for shit. Shit is a red-flag for more shit.

    2. Re:"surfacing new content" by gstoddart · · Score: 2

      Bah, just use it as a "bullshit filter".

      As soon as someone uses words like that it's a sign that you probably don't give a crap what they have to say.

      I've found it quite effective for the last 20 years.

      The moment you find yourself thinking "wow, I just won bullshit buzzword bingo", you know it's time to stop listening, because nothing intelligent or useful will be forthcoming.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    3. Re:"surfacing new content" by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 1

      Good products speak for themselves. No amount of market-speak can fix a bad product.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
    4. Re:"surfacing new content" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It means the same as Mozilla's "stop advertising in order to focus on content discovery". More ads. It's like when you're swimming and a turd pops up: wow, surfacing new content!

  14. Meh - my Twitter is "write only" by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    I don't think this will really affect me since I comment on about three different Twitter handles but I don't really read anyone else's. (However I do tend to look when someone mentions or favorites a tweet or sends me a direct message.)

    1. Re:Meh - my Twitter is "write only" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I think this proves my theory Twitter is only for narcissists and idiot celebrity worshipers who can't wait for the next People Magazine to come out.

      Not that the two sets are mutually exclusive, mind you.

    2. Re:Meh - my Twitter is "write only" by tepples · · Score: 1

      I comment on about three different Twitter handles

      You should have been around back in 2008. There was this one twitter guy who was commenting on a dozen handles, praising GNU/Linux and slamming what he called "M$".

  15. Dr. Who's Twitter timeline... by Locke2005 · · Score: 1

    I've been having a bit of a problem following Dr. Who's Twitter timeline... can you help me out?

    --
    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  16. So... not a timeline? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wikipedia: "Chronology (from Latin chronologia, from Ancient Greek , chronos, "time"; and -, -logia) is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time."

  17. No I didn't like this by Sowelu · · Score: 1

    It keeps doing this on my timeline. When I change it, it asks "Did you like this?" No matter how many times I hit no...they just keep doing it. I miss the days when services were something you paid for, and you were a customer instead of a product.

    1. Re:No I didn't like this by dAzED1 · · Score: 1

      There has to be a happy medium, somehow. Back when we were customers, there were limited options. Nowadays, there are so many potential customers that were you to suggest one particular site be somehow forced (such as so many try to force Facebook membership...) you'd be walking down a very dangerous path. The only way for us to be customers again at this point would be for the gov to pass laws protecting our private information, but unfortunately...that ship has sailed.

  18. It's simple... by AcquaCow · · Score: 1

    They just need a 2-column setup.... current posts on one side, or one pane, and "important"/interesting posts in the other.

    Plenty of space for it in the main twitter web page, mobile people may have to swipe left or right between screens... Tweetdeck could do it simply...

    --

    up 12 days, 22:30, 2 users, load averages: 993.20, 994.21, 994.56
    *makes note to limit user processes...
  19. Yeah by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Is that like that water free water?
    Unsorted alphabetical list?

  20. How much does it cost? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How much does it cost to make my post more important?

  21. bird has gone timmey whimmey?? by laurencetux · · Score: 1

    perhaps they are using this as a theme song??

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

  22. Top Stories according to whom? by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

    We haveTop Men working on it.

    Top. Men.

  23. 140 characters, how many sockpuppets? by tepples · · Score: 1

    But have you managed to get this far without Erris, Mactrope, gnutoo, inTheLoo, willeyhill, westbake, Odder, ibane, deadzero, freenix, myCopyWrong, right handed, GNUChop, and the rest of the gang?

    1. Re:140 characters, how many sockpuppets? by TheCastro1689 · · Score: 1

      I have no idea what those are...

    2. Re:140 characters, how many sockpuppets? by tepples · · Score: 1

      Back in 2008, before the Twitter.com microblog service took off, Slashdot had an active user named twitter. This twitter was notorious for using alternate "sockpuppet" accounts to post his pro-GNU/Linux, anti-"M$" screeds and attack some who disagreed with his message or methods.

      If you don't remember twitter, you must be new here.
      [notices UID 2881349 and login through Twitter.com]
      Now I understand. Twitter the sockpuppeteer mostly stopped posting before you joined.

  24. iOS9 version already does some of this by peter303 · · Score: 1

    You get a digest of "most popular posts from your feeds since you last checked". Then the full feed. Plus a sprinkling of ads that resemble your feeds intermixed.

    1. Re:iOS9 version already does some of this by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      FYI: There are a ton of Twitter clients that already do this. I use Blaq and Twittly. Not sure how it works on iOS, but I'm sure you have a choice of Twitter clients.

  25. Pump or GNU Social mirrored to Twitter by tepples · · Score: 1
  26. Usability engineering != business by tepples · · Score: 1

    From a usability engineering perspective, people who sign up for a Twitter account are its users. This includes @Erris, @gnutoo, @inTheLoo, @westbake, @Odder, @ibane, @deadzero, @freenix, @right_handed, and @trimmer.* But from a business perspective, they are not its customers; advertisers are.

    * Why these accounts?

  27. Promoted Tweets by tepples · · Score: 1

    How much does it cost to make my post more important?

    At the bottom of every page on Twitter is a link to Ads info, which teaches how Promoted Tweets work.

  28. This post was first by drafalski · · Score: 1

    This post was first but Slashdot is trying out a new ordering system

  29. So..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So.........Facebook.

  30. Twitter? WGAS. by DriveDog · · Score: 1

    However, I agree with "I curse the name of Zuckerberg each time I realize that my view of Facebook has been switched from "Most Recent" to "Top Stories" -- Top Stories according to whom?"

  31. Non-chronological = not a timeline by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Maybe they should have changed the title

  32. THIS! by s.petry · · Score: 1

    People using Facebook already receive information censored by Facebook. You get what they want you to see so that they can shape your view of the world. If you don't agree with the progressive agenda, you soon will.

    --

    -The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.

    1. Re:THIS! by Ocker3 · · Score: 1

      I think it's more that facts and science have a liberal 'bias'. Also, the majority of people tend to be at least a bit progressive, and humans are sensitive to what people around them think.

  33. Use Facebook lists instead of the news feed by ayesnymous · · Score: 1

    When you put all your pages and/or friends into a list, you will see EVERYTHING they post in reverse chronological order. Much better than the unpredictable news feed.

  34. Should it also be nonlinear? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What is this non-chronological time you're talking about? Something like dreamtime? Cyclic time?

  35. Twitter should fix its endless scroll by allo · · Score: 1

    Twitter has the most disfunctional endless scroll ever. In the app as on the web.

    You scroll, you retweet, you fave, it jumps back to top. You try to scroll back down and need to wait for reloading of the tweets in between, because they vanished.

    Not that reverse chronical endless scroll would be useful anyway. You scroll down until you catched up (backwards, why?!), then you jump up to unfold new tweets and start scrolling down. Repeat.

    They should have a feature "chronical endless scroll from where i stopped reading".