Twitter removes @mentions and photo links from 140-character limit

We’ve had the ability to tweet since 2006, and the platform has come a long way since then. There have been changes such as polls and other features to make tweeting simple and easy, but we have always been limited to just 140 characters. Today, Twitter has announced that users will be able to take full advantage of the 140-character limit by removing @mentions, photo links and polls from the limit.

This change will allow users to give more information in their tweets, without worrying about having to remove or use multiple tweets to get their point across. There is a little caveat with this change, at least in regards to when you @mention another Twitter user. The @mention will only be uncounted in your 140-character limit if you are replying to another user. If you are sending a fresh tweet to someone else, you’ll still be subject to losing some space in your tweet.

Another big change is one that bloggers have been asking for, forever. Now, you will no longer need to insert a period (.) before @mentioning another user just to be able to have the tweet appear in everyone’s timelines.

Here’s a summary of all the changes that Twitter will be making:

• Replies: When replying to a Tweet, @names will no longer count toward the 140-character count. This will make having conversations on Twitter easier and more straightforward, no more penny-pinching your words to ensure they reach the whole group.
• Media attachments: When you add attachments like photos, GIFs, videos, polls, or Quote Tweets, that media will no longer count as characters within your Tweet. More room for words!
• Retweet and Quote Tweet yourself: We’ll be enabling the Retweet button on your own Tweets, so you can easily Retweet or Quote Tweet yourself when you want to share a new reflection or feel like a really good one went unnoticed.
• Goodbye, .@: These changes will help simplify the rules around Tweets that start with a username. New Tweets that begin with a username will reach all your followers. (That means you’ll no longer have to use the ”.@” convention, which people currently use to broadcast Tweets broadly.) If you want a reply to be seen by all your followers, you will be able to Retweet it to signal that you intend for it to be viewed more broadly.

What do you think about these changes? Do you think that Twitter is moving in the right direction, or is it too little too late for the social media platform? Drop us a line below and let us know. In the meantime, give Phandroid a follow to keep up on all the latest news.

[via Twitter]