Hi Ryan & Raffi, I hope this is a not a dead issue. I totally understand you have higher priorities, but I am curious to know if the team has since reviewed the process. Is registering a US trademark still the only avenue we have for getting an unused/inactive username for our apps? It is great if you still plan to review... I'm just wondering if we should all keep holding our breath for a more reasonable option.
Thanks so much, -Anil On Feb 11, 9:04 pm, Ryan Sarver <rsar...@twitter.com> wrote: > Aral, > > Thanks for the thorough follow up. First of all we definitely care and we > try to show that as opposed to just saying it. The @username issue is a > really sticky one for us for a number of reasons. With that being said, I'm > going to meet with our team internally to review the process and see if we > can come up with better answers to your questions and see if we can improve > the process at all. > > We want to support our developers the best way we can so we're totally open > to fixing the process if it's broken. > > Best, Ryan > > On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 1:38 PM, Aral Balkan <aralbal...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Hi Ryan, > > > My greatest issue with all this is that you appear to have a form response. > > Currently, you're just not handling account transfers at all. And that's the > > same policy for general users (of which you have gazillions) and developers > > (of which you have an order of magnitude or two less). > > > The account I am asking about has not tweeted since 2007. > > > It is not a request asking you to favor one person over another. It is a > > request to favor a new Twitter application over an account that hasn't been > > used in three years. > > > If a human being looked at it, the decision would be clear and would > > probably take 1/10th the time to execute than all these emails have taken. > > > My suggestion: expire accounts that haven't been used in over 12 months and > > don't have to deal with it. > > > If that's too harsh, at least handle *trademark* requests. My app's name > > _is_ a trademark even if it isn't a _registered_ trademark. Forcing me to > > register my trademark (can I register it in the UK, where I live, or do I > > have to get a US registered trademark?) just adds more financial > > responsibility on my shoulders. > > > I put in a trademark request as per the link Raffi gave but I haven't heard > > anything back – not even an automated response saying you guys received the > > email. > > > On the whole, I just feel unloved because I've put a lot of time and effort > > into an app that I feel will make Twitter a bit more fun and I don't feel > > that the request to have the Twitter account with my app's name – one that > > hasn't been used in three years – is an unrealistic request to make. > > > Let's say my app is called Dodo. I'm just sad that I am going to launch > > with the Twitter account @dodo or even @dodoapp – because both are taken and > > unused - but that I'm going to launch with @dodo_app. > > > That you guys don't see this is a problem makes me think that you don't > > care. > > > All the best, > > Aral > > > On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 8:24 PM, Ryan Sarver <rsar...@twitter.com> wrote: > > >> Aral, > > >> I'm not sure where you get the idea that we don't care about developers > >> and that humans aren't involved in the process. Raffi and the rest of the > >> platform team actively respond to emails from developers at all hours of > >> the > >> day on both weekdays and weekends. > > >> As for the issue of handing over @usernames we need to have a rational and > >> scalable approach to doing so. We can't just hand it out to one person > >> because we like them more than another user. So if there is a dispute over > >> a > >> username we need to follow a standard procedure. We obviously love our > >> developers and work really hard to support them in all the ways that we > >> can, > >> but there needs to be some process that works across the board. If you have > >> a constructive suggestion on how that can be done other than just badgering > >> the people trying to help you, then by all means work with us on it and we > >> are totally open to coming up with a better solution. But to date, this is > >> the best solution we have that scales to the number and complexity of the > >> requests that we receive. > > >> I've always stated that we are open to criticism and feedback on how we > >> can improve, but we ask that it be done constructively. > > >> Ryan > > >> On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 7:45 AM, Aral Balkan <aralbal...@gmail.com>wrote: > > >>> Ah, so Twitter wants to see a *registered* trademark number? > > >>> (As an aside: why do you hate your developers, Twitter?) :) > > >>> The thing is, a trademark does not _have to be_ registered to be a > >>> trademark. Products get trademark protection automatically. > > >>> I guess if I don't hear back, I'll have the IP law firm I use to write a > >>> letter first. Cheaper than getting a registered trademark. > > >>> Of course, the best thing would be for a _human being_ at Twitter to say: > >>> hey developer dude, we love you, sure we can do that... don't mention it! > >>> :) > > >>> (I just don't get this impersonal "computer says NO" attitude towards > >>> developers. Is this just the corporate culture at Twitter or are you guys > >>> severely short-staffed? Thinking Twitter really needs to invest in > >>> developer > >>> relations. Maybe get someone whose job it is to handle developer relations > >>> and champion the needs of developers within Twitter?) > > >>> Aral > > >>> On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 3:28 PM, anilchawla <ani...@gmail.com> wrote: > > >>>> Raffi, thank you for the response, but it is disappointing. I have to > >>>> agree completely with Aral that these requests are not for "personal > >>>> use". Some of us have hundreds/thousands of users around the world who > >>>> use our apps as a means to participate on Twitter, and it is > >>>> ultimately those users who are affected. In my my case, I have had > >>>> several users mistakingly mention or try to follow this inactive spam > >>>> account (http://twitter.com/tweetymail) thinking that it was > >>>> associated with my service. In the meantime, I am doing the best I can > >>>> to communicate with these users using another account. > > >>>> FYI, I did not have any success opening support tickets for > >>>> brandsquatting/impersonation. Originally, I was told to wait until > >>>> 1/31/10 for the username to remain inactive. When I complied and > >>>> opened a new request on 2/1, I was immediately denied. It seems that > >>>> brand-squatting/impersonation/brand-confusion are all irrelevant... > >>>> Twitter wants to see a trademark number. I am a hobby developer who > >>>> provides a free service completely out-of-pocket, and now I need to > >>>> spend hundreds of dollars to register a trademark just to get access > >>>> to a username that nobody ever used? > > >>>> I see that you have also replaced the text of the FAQ entry with the > >>>> more generic policy regarding trademark infringement. This is too bad, > >>>> but I guess it answers my original question -- the existing entry was > >>>> no longer valid. I certainly understand that Twitter can't always > >>>> transfer usernames to app developers who want them, but there are > >>>> certainly cases in which a username (inactive/never tweeted/created > >>>> for spam) could be put to better use. A blanket policy on trademark > >>>> infringement may make sense for companies and large brands, but it > >>>> does nothing at all to help the small-time hobby developers who > >>>> contribute so much to the Twitter ecosystem. > > >>>> On Feb 10, 7:34 pm, Raffi Krikorian <ra...@twitter.com> wrote: > >>>> > hi all, please refer to > > >>>>http://apiwiki.twitter.com/FAQ#HowcanIreclaimaninactiveTwitteraccount. > >>>> .. > > >>>> > We are unable to transfer usernames for personal use at this time. If > >>>> you > >>>> > believe a Twitter account may be squatting on your trademark and > >>>> violating > >>>> > Twitter's Terms of Service, please file a ticket athttp:// > >>>> help.twitter.com/requests/newregarding 'Trademark/Brand squatting'. > > >>>> > On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 4:05 PM, Kyle Mulka <repalvigla...@yahoo.com> > >>>> wrote: > >>>> > > I also have this problem and have gotten no response whatsoever from > >>>> > > Twitter. > > >>>> > > Here's the inactive account that I'd like to have: > >>>> > >http://twitter.com/twilk > > >>>> > > -- > >>>> > > Kyle Mulka > >>>> > > Founder, Congo Labs > >>>> > >http://twilk.com > > >>>> > > On Feb 10, 6:41 pm, Anil Chawla <ani...@gmail.com> wrote: > >>>> > > > Thanks, glad to know I'm not alone on this. I've looked at filing > >>>> a > >>>> > > > trademark but it is still frustrating to proceed through > >>>> > > > lengthy/costly legal process in order to reclaim an inactive/spam > >>>> > > > username -- especially for a completely free service. This entry > >>>> in > >>>> > > > the Twitter API FAQ is a glimmer of hope for app developers. I > >>>> hope > >>>> > > > someone at Twitter can help app developers get their specific > >>>> > > > situation reviewed. In some cases, such as mine, it is an > >>>> > > > all-around-win for the Twitter ecosystem to release these inactive > >>>> > > > usernames. > > >>>> > > > -Anil > > >>>> > > > On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 5:17 PM, Aral Balkan < > >>>> aralbal...@gmail.com> > >>>> > > wrote: > >>>> > > > > I had the same response :( > >>>> > > > > Someone told me that the way to approach it may be to file a > >>>> trademark > >>>> > > > > dispute. This is what I'm going to be forced to do since it > >>>> doesn't > >>>> > > appear > >>>> > > > > possible to talk to a human being at Twitter about this issue. > >>>> > > > > All the best, > >>>> > > > > Aral > >>>> > > > > On Wed, Feb 10, 2010 at 6:04 PM, anilchawla <ani...@gmail.com> > >>>> wrote: > > >>>> > > > >> I develop and maintain a free Twitter application (http:// > >>>> > > > >> tweetymail.com) and I am desperately trying to reclaim the > >>>> inactive > >>>> > > > >> 'tweetymail' username because it is causing confusion among my > >>>> users. > >>>> > > > >> I was not able to get anywhere with Twitter support, but I came > >>>> across > >>>> > > > >> this entry in the API FAQ: > > >>>>http://apiwiki.twitter.com/FAQ#HowcanIreclaimaninactiveTwitteraccount. > >>>> > > .. > > >>>> > > > >> I followed the instructions and emailed usern...@twitter.com. > >>>> Five > >>>> > > > >> minutes later, I received two simultaneous emails: 1) An > >>>> automatic > >>>> > > > >> notice indicating that support received my request, 2) An > >>>> automatic > >>>> > > > >> rejection indicating that Twitter is not > > ... > > read more »
