Twitter could add a ‘clarification’ feature rather than allowing tweet edits

If you, like many other Twitter users, have been hoping for the social media company to allow you to edit tweets, it looks like you’re going to be waiting a while longer, but Twitter seems to at least be considering a ‘clarification’ feature to help you explain and give context to old tweets.

The news comes from Mashable, which reports that Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has revealed that the company is considering adding a ‘clarification’ feature.

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Dorsey was speaking at Goldman Sachs' Internet and Technology Conference in San Francisco, and explained that: “One of the concepts we're thinking about is clarifications… Kind of like retweet with comment… to add some context and some color on what they might have tweeted, or what they might have meant.”

Explaining tweets

The idea behind the feature seems to be appeasing people who are uneasy with other people trawling their old tweets and retweeting them without context. There’s been a recent spate of high profile users having old tweets unearthed and used to attack them.

By allowing people to go back and explain older tweets, rather than simply deleting them, Twitter hopes people will be more comfortable using the platform.

However, it doesn’t solve the problem for people who post a tweet with a spelling mistake, for example, and who want a quick and easy way to edit their tweet.

Hopefully the ‘clarification’ feature won’t mean that Twitter isn’t also considering a more useful edit feature. Dorsey didn’t say when the ‘clarification’ feature would arrive – or if it will ever see the light of day – just that Twitter is considering it.

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