Twitter limits searches on its site ... why?
By Paul McNamara on Tue, 01/13/09 - 3:45pm.
Why on Earth would Twitter limit the number of Twitter searches a Twitter user may conduct -- a typical user, such as yours truly, not some resource-piggy third-party app or bot?
And, why on Earth would one of the most talked-about companies on the Internet make it so darn difficult to get an answer to such simple question?
Let's start with the first question first: Last Friday afternoon I was doing what Twitter insists it wants me to do, namely trying to find friends and acquaintances who are also Twitter users so that we can "follow" each other's "tweets," those tiny little messages that consume no more than 140 characters. Twitter provides a search box expressly for this purpose.
"Let's see," I would say to myself, "I wonder if my old pal Phil Intheblank is on Twitter." I'd type "Intheblank" into the search box, hit enter, and more times than not turn up nothing. On a few tries I'd find Phil or Bob or Sally and add them to my "follow" list. I did this maybe 15 to 20 times (I wasn't counting) over the course of maybe 15 to 20 minutes (I wasn't keeping track) before getting this message in response to my last query: "Sorry, you've reached your limit on searches for now."
Say what? It's Friday afternoon, news is slow, I'm trying my best to become a good Twitter citizen ... and you're cutting me off like some drunk who just fell off a bar stool? You can stuff your sorries in a sack, Twitter.
Pique and curiosity prompted me to take the next logical step for one seeking an answer to a question about Twitter while actually being on Twitter. I fired this tweet out to my vast (not so much) network of Twitter followers: "Twitter search just told me: 'Sorry, you've reached your limit on searches for now.' ... (Here I used a naughty three-letter acronym for expressing incredulity.) No, seriously, (repeat naughty acronym) A limit on searches?"
I received one reply from a long-time friend/journalist/Twitterer: "I don't understand the search limit. Have you found any coverage of that?"
No was my answer, although I had just started looking for such coverage -- or any kind of an answer. I immediately found nothing directly on point. Scanned the Twitter FAQ and saw some passages relative to limits, but they were about sending messages and interacting with the Twitter API, near as I could tell. As for limiting searches by an individual? If it's in there, I couldn't find it.
Two colleagues who have logged more Twitter time told me they had never encountered or heard of the search limit.
Others have had the pleasure, though, and they are asking the same question: Why? Twitter has another search box that promises you can "See what's happening right now." I entered "limit on searches" and that query turned up two full pages of Twitterers just as baffled as yours truly by this seemingly arbitrary roadblock. Here are a few quotes lodged since my plaintive tweet on Friday:
I've reached my limit on searches; (There's that naughty three-letter acro again) I'm trying to add my social network; twitter FAIL.
Apparently I've reached my limit on searches for the moment!
Twitter:"Sorry but u have reached your limit on searches for now" Tash:"What?! But... but *cry* why?! Whyyyyy?!"
Twitter said "Sorry but u have reached your limit on searches for now" ooh, Twitter hates me :'(
I feel their pain, so the hunt for an answer would continue. I don't have any direct Twitter contacts. As noted earlier, I'm new to the service and have never had occasion to interview anyone from Twitter. The Twitter Web site offers no press contact (insert three-letter acro), so I resorted to filling out a user help request via their Web form. I quickly received an e-mail acknowledgement and tracking number so that I could keep up with Twitter's tireless efforts to address my inquiry.
That was Friday. Here on Tuesday afternoon that tracking number is all I have by way of a reply.
There's the telephone, I reminded myself yesterday. But Twitter does not provide any obvious phone number on its Web site (OK, OK, that acro is WTF, but you knew that already). However, I do know how to use The Google and found the digits there with little trouble. Called and got a recorded message: "Hi, this is Twitter. The best way to reach us is by e-mail, contact@twitter.com."
Yesterday I sent an e-mail with my questions about the search limit. Today, no reply.
Which brings us to this blog post. If someone from Twitter should reply via any communications channel whatsoever, you'll be the first to know.
Welcome regulars and passersby. Here are a few more recent Buzzblog items. And, if you'd like to receive Buzzblog via e-mail newsletter, here's where to sign up.
2009's 25 Geekiest 25th Anniversaries.
YouTube takes a page from xkcd.
Airport "X-ray art" isn't likely to amuse TSA screeners.
Almost half of Google's products -- including 4-year-old Gmail -- remain in beta. Why?
- About Buzzblog
- Archives
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Sponsored Links
- SQL Server Experts: Virtually unstoppable- Microsoft
- Stay informed with custom newsletters from Tech Dispenser- Tech Dispenser
- FREE LCD Console and 16 node central management tool with purchase of any KN4 series IP KVM- ATEN
- Drive down operating expenses and mitigate risk with app centralization - Live May 12.- Juniper Networks
- The Next Generation of Content Security Has Arrived! Learn More!- Websense, Inc.
- Reduce costs by 49%, Increase capacity utilization by 33%. Make the HP LeftHand SAN work for you.- HP LeftHand SAN
- Connexion saves costs with Microsoft & Novell- Novell Microsoft
- Masters of Virtualization and Cloud Computing- Trend Micro
- Hitachi IT Operations Analyzer—30-day free trial- Hitachi Data Systems
- Are you gambling with your data? It is at risk. Find out and protect it.- Ultrium LTO
-
Network World, Inc
The Leader in Network Knowledge
Limits are good
It is a good thing that Twitter is imposing limits on various actions. I just tested the search and got locked out at 30 searches.
They also finally added lock-out after too many login attempts as well. Blogging about it now.
@stiennon
Good to a point
That there are limits designed to deter abuse is good. That those limits interfere with normal use by typical users is regrettable at best and almost by definition a problem. That Twitter leaves users guessing about all of this is just inexplicable.
Search limit frustrating at best...
Great article!
I was pretty bummed when twitter dumped their keyword search. As a autism parent advocate, I was really looking to connect with other parents via Twitter.
I'm thankful I was able to get a lot of usage from that lil diddy before they canned it.
With all the spammers creating accounts, I don't blame Twitter much for wanting to beef up their security. I was one of the numb nuts whose account was hijacked a couple of weeks ago!
Needless to say, they shouldn't have a limit on the 'search by name' feature. I mean, hell... if you know the person's REAL name that just may be the obvious hint that you probably know them. ;)
Adonya
Adonya Wong
Author | Autism Blogger | Twitterer
Here is someone to get in touch with at twitter
Paul,
Send a tweet to "al3x", he is the api lead over at twitter, I'd hope he can answer your question.
Other Options..
There are other options to do searching.
Try Twitter Groups,
http://twittgroups.com
and some of the sites that link off of it.
It's almost the same with
It's almost the same with facebook!
Yea well
They should have always had the login attempts blocked... That started wayyy back when ppl like hacked Yahoo "Illegals". But the search? I mean I'm not a twitter user , but the only thing I can think of is maybe there was another Exploit being used maybe with searches? Weather it be bots, or something else.. I dunno... Just sayin..
Did you ever stop to think
Did you ever stop to think that every search causes load?
If you reduce searches by 30%, you save 30% in resources. For web applications, that includes servers, air conditioning, power, and bandwidth.
Considering how many outages they have had because of load, I can see why they would rate limit to reduce load.
Not quite a rate limit
Twitter has applied a cap at 30 searches in an hour (my estimate). That really does not reduce total searches, just abusive searches. If you are looking for something you should find it in 3-4 searches max. 30 searches represents the outliers.
A rate limit would be hard to do. If they stopped some searches it would feel just like an outage from being over loaded.
Abusive? How?
To describe what I was doing as "abusive" is to abuse the word abusive. I was looking for friends by using the mechanism Twitter provides. That Twitter's infrastructure wasn't able to handle it means *it* needs to be more robust, not that I need to work slower. You seem to be falling back on the old "it's not a bug it's a feature."