HACKER Q&A
📣 cryptography

Did Twitter's 280-character limit improve discourse?


Imo, Twitter's 280-character constraint made ideas sharper and forced people to share high-density knowledge. Not sure it was a good idea removing it as a pro feature


  👤 jasonthorsness Accepted Answer ✓
The content beyond the limit still collapses with a Show More; I think it works to still keep things short when they can be short but allow for more explanation for posts that need it. I like the change.

👤 jonahbenton
Discourse quality is 99.9999% a trust/safety/moderation policy and tooling outcome. Content can be problematic on any of dozens of dimensions (tone/energy/relevance down to actual criminal consequences) at any size. Whether conversations retain signal and communities develop and grow trust entirely depends on what decisions moderation does or does not make.

👤 PaulHoule
I'd argue it's the opposite. It's very hard to express anything nuanced in that space and when you try people go bezerk and call you a "reply guy" or hit the block button or argue with the admins that you should be banned, etc.