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MBTA loses Twitter handle, then gains it back

By adamg on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 12:13am

UPDATED, 10:50 a.m., Tuesday.

T riders and the local twitterati were surprised last night to learn that the MBTA's Twitter handle had changed from @mbta to @mbtatransit.

This morning, it's back to @mbta.

The Globe reports the T had an unspecified "technical issue" with Twitter - to the point of publicly tweeting at Twitter's support handle. Nat V. reports that when he tried to snag @mbta in the interim, he got back an error message that it was "too short."

H/t Ari Ofsevit and Ari Herzog.

Topics: 
The T


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Comments

By Elmer on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 1:37am.

            IMAGE(http://image.slideserve.com/335751/slide1-n.jpg)
   IMAGE(http://mdhs.mdusd.org/uimg/image/1263280767725/1275118214517/1330874690051.jpg_w465.jpg)   
          IMAGE(http://www.mbtaonline.org/Portals/0/logo.gif)
   IMAGE(http://www.ethompson.org/web/static/img/mbta_logo_xsm.png)    IMAGE(http://www.ethompson.org/web/static/media/slideshow/strivehi.png)
              IMAGE(http://www.mbtabus.com/images/img0004.png)
   IMAGE(http://www.mbtabus.com/images/img0005.png)
                  IMAGE(http://www.mostblessedtrinityacademy.org/pics/header_logo.png)
 

By Wiffleball on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 7:23am.

leaves fewer characters for complaints.

By Saul on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 10:04am.

Actually, not anymore:

http://www.theverge.com/2016/9/12/12891562/twitter-tweets-140-characters...

Another new adjustment to the character limit is that usernames will no longer count when they're at the beginning of replies, giving users additional room for discussion.

By Michael on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 8:52am.

Twitter should apologize for the inconvenience and tell them there's another technician directly behind this one

By roadman on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 11:10am.

for "headway adjustment".

By cybah on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 8:58am.

A few folks and I saw this around 10ish last night so I tried to see if I could snag it (and yes, I'd give it back to them without an issue b/c anything besides @mbta is silly for a twitter handle for the T). Makes me wonder if someone else took it what it would take to get it back

It said it was already taken. Twitter must have a cool down period, or someone was very fast...

By BlackKat on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 9:20am.

MBTA8008

By Ben_Quahog on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 12:08pm.

lol

By ChrisInEastie on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 12:28pm.

Twitter has one that they can fall back on in the worst case scenario. There was also a lawsuit a few years back when they took some guy's username and gave it to a resort.

My original Twitter handle was @thebaconator, back when both the platform and the artery clogger were new and quite novel. It appears a private account with 16 tweets and a whole 12 followers is currently squatting it, Wendy's is really missing an opportunity.

By Robert Paulson on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 9:57am.

After receiving too many complaints the MBTA will be changing its name to Xfinity

By anon on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 11:55am.

....because BPDA was already taken.

By noahproblem on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 12:54pm.

...will arrive some time between 12 Noon and 4 P.M."

By adamg on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 11:06am.

They're back to @mbta. Original post update.

By whyaduck on Tue, 12/06/2016 - 1:53pm.

@MBTAsucks?