Twitter logo (Photo : Reuters)
In its war on Internet trolls, Twitter's new program allows users to add to a crowdsourced list of social networking accounts they have blocked due to abusive posts. Online victims can fight back against Twitter trolls by uploading blocked lists that include users who are aggressive, offensive, or annoying.
To access the troll list, users must visit the Settings section on Twitter.com, and then choose the Advance Options menu. Then they can import or export lists to block trolls.
Users can use the Blocked Accounts pane to export the list of blocked accounts and then save it as a .CSV file, according to Wired. The list can then be crowdsourced to other Twitter accounts.
Common victims of hate, such as women's rights advocates and LGBT members, will be better protected by Twitter's new anti-troll feature. Last month Twitter online trolls used the social media's site to spread hate messages that attacked transgender people.
Trolls impersonated Caitlin Roper, an Australian feminist, on Wednesday, to spread an offensive tweet asking transgenders to commit suicide. The hateful tweet has been removed and the Twitter account has been suspended, according to Times of India.
The new block list feature of the social network giant follows a leaked memo earlier this year in which Twitter CEO Dick Costolo informed staff that the company was ineffective in how it handled written abuse and trolls. It has taken several steps to make it easier for users to report abuse and then quickly remove offensive Twitter trolls.
Xiaoyun Zhang, Twitter's user safety engineer, stated in a blog post that the new feature will make the website "safer for everyone." It will be available to all users within a week.
In December the tech company also improved its block feature, prohibiting blocked users from viewing blockers' profiles. Twitter also already allows account holders to mute accounts by switching off abusive messages, prevening online trolls' posts from showing up on their timeline.
The new feature takes the war on Twitter trolls to the next level.
