Ever since its launch, Twitter users have asked for an edit button on the platform. Whether they wanted to add more information to a Tweet they sent or just correct a typo, the option to edit a text is what they have been asking for.
And even though throughout the years there have been rumors saying that an edit button will be added, the news that it won’t in the near future, dropped this week in an interview with Jack Dorsey, Twitter CEO.
No Edit Button for Twitter
When asked why aren’t they adding the edit button for Twitter, Dorsey said that Twitter started as an SMS platform back in 2006 and such a message can’t be edited after being sent. This is one of the reasons why they won’t add the button in the near future. It would go against their starting beliefs.
Over the time, Twitter representatives have said that they might add the possibility of editing a tweet in an interval of 5 to 30 seconds after sending it out in the world, if typos have been made. But the idea was abandoned, because it would have changed the real-time nature of the conversation.
And the main reason for which the Twitter edit button will not be added in the near future is, as Dorsey says, that if you send out a tweet and someone retweets it is because they believe in the idea you transmitted. But what if you had the possibility to edit it and change the whole meaning of the thoughts you first sent out and people retweeted? Then those later ones will feel tricked and might not interact with you anymore, because you send out misleading information.
So for all of the reasons listed below the Twitter edit button will not be added anywhere in the future.
What do you think of this decision from Twitter’s representatives?
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