To Follow or Not to Follow...

That is the question, Twitter.

I've had my account for a few months now, and I've come to a better understanding of the Twitterverse.

I also ran across a few different people who had posted "Rules" and things regarding who they would or would not follow, who they would block, etc. It seemed like a weird way to make connections, new friends, whoever.

Then I started to see it. Occasionally on my Notifications page, I'll get a follower who has no picture, no bio, a weird user name, and their only tweet is a link. They also follow 1900 people and only 34 followers.

The first few of these, I actually went ahead and followed, thinking perhaps it was just someone getting started on the site. I'm a pretty nice person. Or at least I think I am? Anyway, I attempted to converse with these "Egg" accounts, welcoming them, thanking them for the follow, the usual.

That's when the spam started.

I have since learned my lesson and I now try to only connect with real people. I avoid p0rn bots and weird accounts. But I occasionally still get a follower who seems somehow... iffy.
So with that in mind, I give you my personal:

Twitter Standards and Practices Doctrine

1. I will follow anyone who follows me and is a real person, company or interest. I like lots of things and people and places and I'm all for making new friends! /big welcoming smile

2. I will not follow any account that is spam, p-rn, bigoted, violent, abusive, etc. If you have to ask if your account falls under these no-no's, you're probably fine. It's like being crazy: the ones who are never ask. /suspicious glare

3. If you unfollow me, I may unfollow you back. There are a few accounts I follow without any reciprocity, but that's usually limited to businesses, i.e. HyVee. If you don't want to follow me anymore, that's ok, but don't follow, inflate your numbers from people following back, and then drop everyone you follow to look cool. I don't understand and I don't approve. /stern look

4. Languages are funny things. If you tweet in a language other than English, I may not follow you back because I can't understand what you're saying. If Twitter can't translate, neither can I. Thank you for following me, and thank you for understanding. /apologetic grimace

5. Retweets and Favorites are just my own personal taste. I never expect anything in return. If I favorite something you did, it's because I genuinely like it. If I retweet something it's because I think people would like to know. I hope you'll like some things I post, but I understand not everyone can like everything. /big hugs

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being good Tweeps!