Some users report difficulty using a hashtag (#) in their Tweets, or that Tweets sent as @replies aren’t working as expected. Read on to find out possible causes of these issues and how to fix them.
My @replies/mentions aren’t working!
If you’re having trouble with @replies or mentions, check for the following:
- Is there a symbol in/after the username? If you write @Support.123, your message will be sent to the user @Support, not @Support123.
- Is there text or a symbol preceding the @ symbol? If you write .@Support or ?@Support, it will appear as a regular Tweet, meaning all of your followers will see it in their timeline, rather than just you, the intended recipient and those who follow both of you.
- Is there a letter preceding the @ symbol? If you write 123@Support or word@Support, Support will not receive your Tweet. Mentions and @replies will not work with letters or numbers in front of the @ symbol. The @ symbol must be at the beginning of a Tweet or it must have a space directly in front of it in order for the mention to work.
- Are your Tweets protected? If your Tweets are protected, the person you’re trying to @reply or mention has to be one of your approved followers in order to see your Tweet. For example, if @Support has protected Tweets, @justinbieber won’t be able to see their Tweets unless he follows that account.
- Are you looking for your @replies? If you’re not seeing your @reply listed below a user’s original Tweet, it’s because we are currently unable to show every reply to a given Tweet in that Tweet’s details. Rest assured that if your @reply is showing up in your timeline, the other user can see your @reply in their Mentions tab.
My hashtags aren’t working!
Hashtags are subject to many of the same rules described above. Check your hashtags for the following:
- Is there a symbol or punctuation in or after the hashtag? If you write #it’ssotasty, your message will be categorized under #it. Punctuation marks ( , . ; ‘ ? ! etc.) will end your hashtag wherever punctuation occurs.
- Is there a letter preceding the hashtag symbol? If you write 123#sotasty or word#sotasty, your Tweets will not show in searches for the hashtag #sotasty. Hashtags will not work with letters or numbers in front of the # symbol. The # symbol must have a space directly in front of it in order for it to show correctly in searches.
- Is the hashtag made up entirely of numbers? If you write #1 or #123 the hashtag will not be hyperlinked and is therefore not searchable. However, if you include letters following the numbers in the hashtag, for example, #123go, then the hashtag will work correctly.
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