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I thought Twitter was a stupid idea when it first started. 140 character limit? What the fuck is the point? The fact they increased that limit shows it was dumb. Everything else about the site just gives further reason to hate it.
That limit came from the days of SMS. The idea was that you can't go to the internet, because data is expensive, the network doesn't exist, your dumb phone can't even open websites etc. However, you can send SMS messages, and those things have a 160 character limit.
Do does that mean they took an existing limitation from the SMS protocol, that didn't apply because it used data instead and then shoehorned it into a godawful web 2.0 monstrosity all the same (and bear in mind, this is significantly reducing the unnecessary character limit!)
In 2006 the restriction did apply. The idea was that you would type the message on a computer, and let Twitter send a few SMS messages to a small group people.
You weren’t supposed to have millions of followers or write a full length blog post using a hundred short messages. The idea was that you cold reach people quickly even though they didn’t have access to a proper computer or the internet. So much has changed in the past 18 years…
So wait, it would convert them into an SMS for you?
Why bother with the middle man...
Back in the bad old days, messages cost you real world money. If you wanted to reach lots of people by SMS, it would be pretty expensive. Might as well let Twitter pay for the messages, especially when you’re just writing a public announcement.
Still does where I'm from! As to why they front up for the 18 cents (or similar), seems mental
I’ve heard some strange stories about a mysterious land on the other side of a vast ocean. In this far-away land of countless wonders, companies are only symbolically restricted by laws. This means that they can legally exploit their employees and customers in all sorts of creative ways, and charge pretty much whatever they want. Maybe you’ve heard similar wonderful tales as well?
It's still very stupid, character limit increase or not.