My Twitter account is @oranv, originally @oranviri. Twitter is my primary public social media account.
Given Twitter’s troubles since coming under new management, many have been flocking to Mastodon, a decentralized social network with features similar to Twitter. On February 18, 2023, I opened a Mastodon account as an alternative. I am @oranv@mastodon.social. To cut through the analysis paralysis I just picked the original instance. I have not decided on my posting strategy there so very likely that page will be quiet for some time.
If you came here from Twitter or Mastodon, welcome. If you follow me there, thank you. This page will outline my approach to using Twitter and might explain some of my behavior while using that service.
Guidelines
Topics & Subjects
Whatever I feel like. Though I avoid discussing very personal or family matters for privacy.
Viewpoint
What I tweet is my personal opinion alone and not anyone else’s. No one is paying me to tweet nor has anyone reviewed my tweets prior to posting but myself. That is why I do not list my employers or affiliated organizations in my Twitter bio.
Follows
It is not possible to follow everyone and maintain a pleasant experience. To keep my timeline manageable, I am very selective in which accounts I follow. Only follow if I really want to see all of their content all the time or I interact with them regularly.
An automatic followback almost never happens.
If account is mildly interesting for a specific subject, I add it to a private list instead. I make use of private lists to follow accounts in specific topics to reduce clutter on my main feed.
Endorsements
Follows, retweets, and likes do not necessarily constitute an endorsement. If I endorse something, I will say it.
Traffic Management
I employ muting retweets to reduce the volume of tweets from accounts that retweet too much for my taste. I mute accounts to quietly get them out of my feed and mentions. I also will mute certain threads. I rarely block accounts.
Threads
Most of my threads are live from the field and free form. I am not a fan of pre-composing threads that really should be a blog post. I might have long running threads for certain topics. I dislike thread unroller apps and do not wish them be used on my threads.
Self quotation
I tend to quote my past tweets and cite myself.
Image description text
I endeavor to provide descriptive text (also called Alt text) for images and photos I post.
Media & Copyright
Fair use principle applies.
Prefer self-created images and photos, using the highest quality possible.
Attribute or link to copyrighted material unless it is self-attributing e.g. watermark or baked-in credit.
Try to find the original image and avoid sharing reposts.
I can’t be bothered with animated GIFs.
Prompts and viral questions
Avoid engagement. Make separate post to discuss subject instead if it is interesting. Avoid disclosing personal information that may be used for identity theft and account takeovers.
Retweets, responses, and quote tweets
If it makes extraordinary claims, double check.
Avoid posting viral images or video, especially from picture aggregator accounts. See @PicPedant.
When tweeting about a previous retweet, I might preface it with “LRT” instead of quote tweeting to give myself a degree of separation.
Hashtags
I use hashtags sparingly, mostly to group my own tweets for future reference. I tend to avoid jumping on the “hashtag du jour”. Below is a sampling of hashtags used:
- #GilligView in which I complain about the poor visibility from windows on Gillig’s low floor buses
- #ArticWatch for when I spot an articulated bendy bus in the field. I like big buses and used to ride them daily on my commute.
- #VacantSB showing vacant storefronts and new development in Santa Barbara
- #SBMTD for Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District
- #NerdTrain for the annual train ride with friends who love trains, travel, transit and other tangential topics
- #AmtrakCoffee because no morning train ride is complete without a cup of Amtrak Joe
- #AlwaysReadThePlaque for plaques I find noteworthy. Inspired by 99% Invisible.
TBD for Mastodon which places more imporatance on hashtags as a way to discover new content.
Style
I tweet mostly in English (US). Occasionally in Thai.
Units
SI metric units, 24-hour clock, and ISO 8601 date format are often used for clarity and specificity. US customary units, 12-hour clock (am/pm), and various date formats are also used informally.
Punctuation
In general, follow common capitalization and punctuation rules.
The Oxford comma is used.
Ignore for posts with less serious tone.
Abbreviations and acronyms
Omit periods.
Structure
Break up sentences and paragraphs for readability.
Tags and Mentions
I only tag or mention accounts when I want a response from them to bring something to their attention. Otherwise, when writing about them in general I use a hashtag or plain name.