Help! This account is temporarily locked!

[FemDomAddicts]

I’ve read the rules of Twitter over and over and I don’t get why I am having problems with an automation app I’m writing.

The purpose of the app is to look at when models are online, and when they are to post a tweet to say the are online, inviting people to visit the site.

All the posts do follow a similar pattern “this model (twitter name) is now online, visit her here: (url)”

but I thought they were different enough to not be actual duplicates.

I also updated the app to delete the tweet when they are no longer online - so there are literally no duplicate tweets.

I made sure both the test account I’m testing it on is flagged as “possibly sensitive content” and each tweet is also flagged too.

My app was prevented from performing write operations but that was removed after I filled in the form, but now my whole account has been suspended and I’m not getting the verification code to fix it.

My phone number is correct (it is a UK number, don’t know if that is a problem) but I’m not getting any verification codes sent to it.

So what am I doing that Twitter thinks I am breaking the rules?

[FemDomAddicts]

Well the good news is my account appears to be unlocked again.

However I’d really appreciate any feedback on what I need to be aware of with this app. It seems to me like a perfect use for a twitter app.

I tweet when a model comes online, I even started deleting the tweet when they go offline. The only issue I wondered about is when the app first starts up it can issue a lot (not a ridiculous number - say 10-12 max) of tweets at once - is that likely to be an issue? Should I limit it to just a few Tweets every few minutes?

[FemDomAddicts]

… the bad news is my Twitter account is suspended - so although I can get into my developer apps I can’t actually post any Tweets.

I’ve lodged an appeal - it would be super helpful to know what rules and policies are at issue when this sort of thing happens then I could do something about it, I don’t regard any of the posts as abusive or spam and it can’t be issues of security so what is it?

[yoyoel]

Unfortunately, for privacy reasons we aren’t able to comment on specific accounts or applications on the forums. Since you’ve submitted an appeal, I would recommend continuing to work with the team through that process if you feel your account was suspended in error.

In general, though, posting substantially duplicative content is a violation of the Twitter Rules regarding spam, and may be subject to enforcement. Please review the Twitter Rules and Automation Rules to ensure your activities remain in compliance.

[FemDomAddicts]

It all seems very Kafkaseque to me. It is now four days since my account got suspended - first I had write/edit permissions removed - I appealed and they were returned, then my developer account was locked - I appealed and it was re-opened. Each time I tried to find out what I was doing wrong, but I got no information back, so I was just guessing as to what I had to change to get the app approved, then my whole Twitter account got suspended,

I appealed, wrote an email trying to explain what I was trying to do and how I had read the rules and didn’t believe I had broken any of them, the next day I had an email that just said “your account has been suspended due to multiple or repeat violations of the Twitter rules - please do not respond to this email” - I don’t know if that was in response to my explanatory email, or if my appeal is stil pending. Since I’ve not heard anything further and I can’t actually even get into my developer account I assume that was the final word.

I certainly didn’t post duplicate tweets with any regularily. My app was basically just posting status updates - imagine you have a Twitter account that posts when a football team scores - there might be a small amount of duplication if they same guy scores “Harry Kane has just scored!” or something like that - but does that count as duplication? Anyway obviously it is easy to avoid making sure the Tweet is an exact duplicate by for example posting the scoring time or something like that.

My point is, I’m trying to develop an app - I read the rules, I don’t think I’m breaking any rules - but someone in Twitter thinks I am. I don’t get told what rule I’m breaking, and - bam - I’m out. All the time I spent developing the app is for nothing.

It is a basic right of the accused to know what they are accused of, but I’m not getting this.

[FemDomAddicts]

Let’s go through the various Twittter rules:

###Content Boundaries and Use of Twitter
#Intellectual property
I’m not using someone elses trademark or copyright.

#Graphic violence of adult content
There is no graphic violence, it is posting a picture of a model, but it isn’t hard-core, it is just a suggestive pose as seen on many Tweets. The Tweets are each marked as containing potentially sensitive content and the account itself has this marked too, and the rules state

“Twitter allows some forms of graphic violence and/or adult content in Tweets marked as containing sensitive media. However, you may not use such content in your profile or header images”.

Well I’m not using them in my profile or header images, and I’ve marked the tweets appropriately.

#Unlawful use
It isn’t furthering illegal activities

#Trends
It isn’t trying to manipulate trends

#Misuse of Twitter badges
It isn’t misusing Twitter badges

#Misuse of usernames
It isn’t misusing usernames

##Abusive Behavior
It isn’t engaging in abusive behaviour

#Violence and physical harm
There are no threats of violence

#Abuse and hateful conduct
No abusive or hateful conduct

#Private information and intimate media
I’m not posting other people’s private information

#Impersonation
I’m not impersonating anyone

##Spam and Security
I’m not trying to break Twitter security
I’m not spamming anyone

So the only one out of all of these that might be an issue is the adult content - but looking at the rules it states the tweets need to be marked as containing sensitive media which they are, and the header and profile must not contain adult images, which they don’t.

If for example this was an issue, it can be remedied - I could either only post pictures of models faces, or I could just not post an image at all and just post the link, although this seems to now be going well beyond what the rules say.

But of course I don’t know if this is the issue at all because Twitter won’t tell me. Why can’t Twitter work with developers to help them get their apps in a state where Twitter are happy with them? The current rules are just draconian and unfair, I spent a lot of time learning to write the Twitter developer API, and now with no right to appeal or a fair trial I just get the app taken down.

I would love to be able to write more Twitter apps and make use of the skills I have learned, but my time is too important to me to spend a lot of effort getting something working only for it to be cancelled for no reason.

Surely Twitter should be supporting developers and people who want to invest in their platform and not treat them like this?

[FemDomAddicts]

Now I’ll address the automation rules. These include the following under “Do”

Build solutions that automatically broadcast helpful information in Tweets.

Well that is exactly what my app aims to do - it broadcasts when models are online, and has a picture of the model and a link to them - anyone who wants to subscribe to this information will now be able to do so if this account was allowed.

One of the issues raised in this forum is whether I was sending duplicate Tweets - the rules say under Spamming

Multiple posts/accounts: You may not post duplicative or substantially similar Tweets on one account or over multiple accounts you operate.

This seems to me to mean just repeating the same Tweet over and over again.

If I have a football app that Tweets when a team scores, the Tweets are going to be “duplicate” in structure but not in content. That is they have the same structure of “someone scored” but that isn’t what Twitter means by duplicates is it? That isn’t spam, it isn’t annoying, it is just telling someone who scored. The fact that (for example) the whole account has Tweets which say

Mohamed Salah just scored! Follow the match at ...
Harry Kane just scored! Follow the match at ...
Raheem Sterling just scored! Follow the match at ...
Romelu Lukaku just scored! Follow the match at ...
Sergio Agüero just scored! Follow the match at ...
Wayne Rooney just scored! Follow the match at ...
Álvaro Morata just scored! Follow the match at ...
Gabriel Jesus just scored! Follow the match at ...

Or if that is what Twitter are saying - which seems crazy because what is wrong with something like that? - but if they are saying don’t keep posting the same style of Tweet, then ok, that can be factored into Tweets, either the wording can be modified, or other Tweets can be added as well, but that then seems to me to spoil the purpose of such an account - if someone wants to get notified when someone scores a goal, or when a model goes online, how is that Spam? I just don’t see that this constitutes duplcation, but if it does then Twitter should be more explicit.

Other Automation rules

#Duplicate accounts
I’ve not created duplicate accounts

#Misleading links
I’m not posting misleading links

#Sensitive media
"Automated Tweets and Direct Messages must comply with the Twitter media policy, and you should mark your account as potentially sensitive if you intend to post graphic, pornographic, or potentially sensitive media".

Yes I am doing this.

#Abusive behavior
I’m not being abusive

#Private information
I’m not posting private information

##Other Ground Rules for Automated Activity

#Don’t surprise or mislead users:
I’m not

#Mature content or profanity:
“Don’t Direct Message, mention, or reply to users with potentially sensitive content (including profanity), unless they’ve clearly indicated an intent to receive it in advance”.

I’m not doing this.

#Be thoughtful about the information you request or exchange on Twitter
Yes - I’m doing this.

##Automated Actions Through Another User’s Account
This doesn’t apply - the Tweets are through the current account.

##Automated Tweets

#Automated Tweets that cross-post outside information:
“You may post automated Tweets based on sources of outside information — such as an RSS feed, weather data, etc. — as long as you are sufficiently authorized to publish such information”.

Yes - FemDommeAddicts have authorized me to publish this information.

#Other automated Tweets (excluding mentions or replies): “Provided you comply with all other rules, you may post automated Tweets for entertainment, informational, or novelty purposes. As a reminder, accounts posting duplicative, spammy, or otherwise prohibited content may be subject to suspension”.

As mentioned above - the Tweets are for informational purposes, they aren’t duplicates, in fact to make sure I avoided any duplicate Tweets at all I even made sure I deleted any previous Tweets about a model being online, so the TL wouldn’t say the model was online say last night and when she comes online again tonight there would be the same Tweet saying they were online.

To avoid such a scenario (I was trying to second-guess what the problem was, obviously since I didn’t know what it was) I added code so that when the model went offline I deleted the earlier Tweet that said she was online, so there literally would never be any duplicate Tweets.

#Posting automated mentions and replies
I don’t do this.

##Automated Direct Messages
I don’t do this.

##Automated actions you take on Tweets or accounts
I don’t like, retweet, follow/unfollow or add to lists.

So - like I say - I have read the rules, I have attempted to comply with them, I have attempted to talk to Twitter about what is is they don’t like about my app, I’m not getting anything back which is crazy - if the police arrest you they have to say what you are accused of, that’s a basic right- isn’t it the sixth amendment?

And that’s where it stands, weeks of work down the drain because someone at Twitter decides that even though I’ve done my best to follow the rules and talk to Twitter about what concerns they have with this app, it seems like they just aren’t interested.

I feel very let down and disappointed by Twitter, I thought they were better than this.

[FemDomAddicts]

Since I posted the above comments my developer account has been unlocked again but my main Twitter account is still suspended.

I appreciated the sentiments expressed by @yoyoel when he says “I would recommend continuing to work with the team through that process if you feel your account was suspended in error” but unless the Team works with me I’m just working by myself.

I’ve done all I can think of - in effect I’ve had a “three strikes and you’re out” sentence. I developed the app - first test and the app got write locked. I appealed, it was unlocked, so I had to try and figure why it might have been locked. As you can see from my analysis of the rules, it isn’t at all obvious why it might have been locked, my best guess was some duplication of Tweets, so I made sure any duplicate Tweets were at least two hours apart and tried again.

For my second attempt my Dev account was locked. I appealed again and it was unlocked (but still no reason why it was locked or why it was unlocked) so again I had to think what had I missed, what was the problem?

Again, all I could think was some issue over duplication, so this time I ensured any previous duplicate Tweet would be deleted when the model would come online again, so the TL would never say “Model X is online” twice. So for my third attempt I had another go.

This time my whole Twitter account has been locked and my Twitter Dev account also got locked. Note I was posting on this forum asking what the problem was, what did I need to change,I got no indication as to what was the issue.

Now after posting my detailed report on why I don’t think my app is in violation of Twitter Rules and Policies I’ve had my dev account unlocked, but the Twitter account is still suspended, and again, still no clue as to what the issue is.

@Yoyoel said “Unfortunately, for privacy reasons we aren’t able to comment on specific accounts or applications on the forums”.

Two comments on this.

First - well it would be great if you commented somewhere - I’ve not had an email on what the problem is, so if you don’t send emails then…

Second I hereby give full permission that you can “comment on (my) specific accounts or applications on the forums” - because I think it would be a great help to other developers - if someone is developing an app that announces something happening:

“X has a concert next week”
“X has just scored a goal”
“X has just released a new song”

Then I’m sure they would like to know what the issues are with this sort of automated app, so any concerns the team had about previous announcement apps would be of great interest to them.

[FemDomAddicts]

I’ve opened another appeal.

[andypiper]

The best approach here is to deal with the platform operations team via the support form. As we have stated, we are unable to go through individual app details in these forums for a variety of reasons.

These comments may or may not apply to your app(s) - I do not know. However…

• the most common reason I’ve seen for apps being write-restricted is automated use of unsolicited and unengaged @mentions and @replies, which is detected by our antispam systems as a likely signal of potential bad content. This is covered in the Automation Rules and has been clarified in the forums previously.
• creation of more than one app that performs the exact same function, particularly in a short period of time, is often detected as a sign of problematic activity. See I.A.5 and I.F.5 in the Developer Policy and the policy clarification here.

From an account suspension perspective, you will need to use the Help and Support Center - we have no ability to assist with account issues here.

Since we’re unable to assist or debate this further via this forum I’m going to close this thread and ask that you continue to use the platform support channel we’ve directed you to. Thank you.

[andypiper]