October 17, 2009, 9:51 PM — Twitter has had its share of problems with spam. Fraudulent IDs, worms, you name it ... and it's just getting worse. Before now, users could fight back using a few helpful steps or reporting profiles to an @spam mailbox. Now Twitter has introduced a handy tool to combat the raging army of spam.
When browsing a user's page, click on the actions toolbar located at the top right-hand corner of the feed. At the bottom of the drop-down menu you'll see "Report so-and-so as spam." A report then goes to Twitter's Trust and Safety team, which will investigate the claim. Even better: Twitter's new antispam tool also works as an antistalker device, as any profile you report is then barred from following or replying to you.
That's all fine and well, but the antistalker measure leads me to think that perhaps some people will abuse this feature. Sick of reading your boss's son's emo tweets about his feelings? Report him. Exhausted from replies about that time you split your pants at the bus station? Report them. If this reporting tool gets out of hand -- which may not be the case at all -- the Trust and Safety team will certainly have its share of work to do investigating profiles that aren't actually spam but rather obnoxious gabbers.
Still, the report spam option on Twitter is a welcome addition to the site, and one that will surely clean up the dregs for people who actually want to enjoy themselves in 140 characters or less.
