The Problem

As you may have heard from my whining over the past few days, there is some kind of major fail with Twitter's API that is causing massive freezing and hangs in Tweetdeck Desktop for SOME users. 

The problem is NOT just affecting Tweetdeck. Hootsuite has different symptoms (slow posts, etc), but it's all related. Many clients are probably affected, but again, it's probably random symptoms on random accounts so it's hard to pin down what is happening to whom. Software is just like that sometimes. It sucks,I know. We just have to deal with it. At least until the next Rapture solves this crap for all of us :)

Why some are punished and others are not is something only Twitter engineers, or your god of choice can explain to you. I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for that answer, but it really doesn't matter.

What does matter is that you can help them fix this problem sooner by sending them "debugging logs" which are stored on your computer.  The more of you who do this, the faster the problem may be fixed:

Here's how to help

It's really much easier than it looks. Just read slowly… and breathe.. for the love of dog… breathe :)

 

Where do I find the log file & How do I enable debug logging in TweetDeck?

From time to time you may be asked to provide a log file when troubleshooting a problem with us here at TweetDeck.

Your log file is named "tweetdeck-app.log" and can be found in the following folder:

  • Mac OS X:  Places/(your username)/Library/Preferences/TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]/Local Store
  • Windows XP:  C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]\Local Store
  • Windows Vista:  C:\users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]\Local Store
  • Linux:  /home/(your username)/.appdata/TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]/Local Store

Please note that some of the folders may be hidden.

Email it to the address you will have been given and we will be able to have a clearer picture of what is going on.

Debug Logging

If you are asked by TweetDeck Support to enable debug logging, here's what you need to do:

1. Find the file debug.xml in the following location:

Mac OS X:  Places > Home Directory (ie your username) > Library/Preferences/TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]/Local Store

Windows XP:  C:\Documents and Settings\[user]\Application Data\TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]\Local Store

Windows Vista & Windows 7:  C:\Users\[user]\AppData\Roaming\TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]\Local Store

Linux:   ~/.appdata/TweetDeckFast.FFF[random letter and numbers]\Local Store

Please note that some of the folders may be hidden.

2. Edit the file using a basic text editor (eg Notepad, NOT Microsoft Word or suchlike)

3. The file should look like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<debug>  

    <enabled>false</enabled>

</debug>

4. Change the word "false" to "true" so that it looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>

<debug>  

    <enabled>true</enabled>

</debug>

5. Save the file, overwriting the original.

6. Restart your TweetDeck (and run it until the problem has occurred a few times).  Now when you send your debug information to TweetDeck Support, we will have much more detail than normal. 

Power users: If you want to be really nice, delete or empty the actual log file first before running Tweetdeck. This will give them a nice clean log, but it's not vital to do this.

7. Attach the log file ( tweetdeck-app.log ) to an email and send it to:   community@tweetdeck.com.

Please note, once you have been informed by TweetDeck Support that we no longer need any more logging, you should perform this operation again, but change the "true" back to "false". Detailed debug logging will slow down the operation of your TweetDeck so should not be left in place when not required.

8. Finally, use the Retweet button below to pass this on as far as it can travel. (This is very important.)

That's all there is to it. You're done! And thanks. This will be a huge help to the developers at Tweetdeck and Twitter.

 

UPDATE/NOTE:  Twitter has a very poorly-timed bug. If you're having trouble changing your avatar, see note below.


 

I so rarely do this, but as I wrote in a post last week, and detailed in my primer on the crisis, what is happening in Wisconsin is too important to not do everything that we can to show support for the demonstrators there; locally, regionally, nationally, and globally, and on Twitter, Facebook, or the back of your damned car.  

Last night, filmmaker Michael Moore asked everyone to wear red to show our solidarity. And this morning, my old friend @hankronan messaged me and suggested Wisconsin Badger Red for our Twitter dress, also known as our avatars.

Now given Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck's faux-fixation with communism lately, the color red might not have been the best idea, but screw 'em all. Wingnuts don't own the color wheel, eh?

Look my progressive/liberal friends and neighbors: this is our Stonewall, Waterloo, and <historical name your battle of choice>.

But win or lose, it cannot be our Last Stand.  So please don't just sit on your ass and watch. Do something; anything. Send yourself, your money, some pizza, or call a union and ask what you can do. If nothing else, just make a Tributar like mine shown at upper right. (I've provided some tools to help you make one below.) 

If you want to be subtle, just stick a red square or dot in the corner of  your avatar. As with much in life (except some of my posts), it just doesn't have to be complicated to be effective.

It's the least you can do. The very least. You only have one country, and you may not have it for much longer. So fight for what you have, and fight as hard as you are able, while you still have a country to fight for.

As always, please use the Tweet button to distribute this post to anyone that should care. Thanks. (Note: When you use the button, you increase the #tally, and that encourages others to do the same. This has greater impact than simply retweeting the message that brought you here.)

Tributar Tools

Avatars with some special image, color or text signifying some event or cause are often called "twibbons." I never like terms that are twitter-centric, or for that matter, dedicated to any one social media service, unless they are only applicable to that service. So last year, I coined the term "tributar" at Urbandictionary,com, after seeing Keith Olbermann make one to honor his late-father last year.

Tributar Editors

  • Twibbon.com — is probably your fastest and easiest option. It's very easy, and the site has instructions. Or if you enjoy tutorials, here are some video guides.
  • Photobucket.com — is very easy to use, according to @angryBlackLady.
  • I really never use these tools — because I really don't do many Tributars, personally, so if you know a better tool, please tweet it to me at: @shoq. I will post here.

Image Editors

If you're not a Photoshop wizard and you want to do it yourself, here are some web-based tools you can use. While it may seem like a lot of work to learn the basics of image editing, it won't take more than 15 minutes to change a color the first time if you have no experience whatsoever. And then you'll know how to do it for the next big thing.

Human Editors

  • Just look for someone with a cool red avatar, and ask them how they made it, or if they will make one for you.
  • If you want to volunteer to make them for others, I will be happy to post your twitter handle here. Just tweet me at: @shoq.

Computer Code For "Badger Red"

One of the code(s) below will render a shade of red in your editor:

The PRECISE WISCONSIN BADGER color is: (Hat Tip to @gaborger)

  • RGB: R 191 G 0 B 0 …or
  • Hexidecimal: BF0000

My Tributar above uses a slightly brighter value, for contrast with a darker image like the @Shoq panther:

  • RGB:  R 254 G 0 B 0 …or
  • Hexidecimal: FE0000

If you don't know what these codes mean, it doesn't matter. You can probably figure out where to put them in your editor. If not, just pick a nice red from the editor's palette and move on :)

Twitter Avatar Bug

UPDATE/NOTE:  With their usual perfect timing, Twitter has a bug and it's not displaying the "Change Profile Image" button on Settings/profile screen.  They claim it's resolved, but it's not.  To work around this, just hold down SHIFT key and press your browser's reload button. After a few times, the button should appear. If it doesn't, try clearing your browser cache first  (Google-it for your browser) and try again.

Related

 

This page will explain, in the simplest possible terms, why many use a period or other character before a @Twittername. While I once wrote a widely circulated explanation, it was rather dense, and I find that at least a third of my stream still doesn't understand the issue. Thus, I felt a simpler explainer might help.

What is the period (or other character) before the "@twittername" for?

In the simplest possible terms, it "breaks" Twitter's native (built-in) reply threading (a fancy techy term for connecting tweets together).

Without it, your Tweets beginning with @someName will NOT show up to your ALL of your followers, UNLESS they happen to follow both you and the person you are replying to. 

Will only a period work?

Nope. Almost any character will work just as well.

All that matters is that the ?@ character combo be the very first characters in your tweet text.  That said, the period, because I and a few others hammered Twitter streams with it for over 2 years, has become the de facto standard. I would not deviate from it because a) it will just confuse people, and b) there's no reason to. The period is so small, that while anyone can still see it, they visually just tune it out. It has no impact on Twitter readability.

Doesn't that waste a character in my text?

Yes, but LOLs waste 4 (including the space after), and we know you ain't giving them up, right Spanky?  Now STFU about one lousy character and keep reading.

Why would Twitter want to hide my replies from my followers?

The logic is that by only showing replies to those who follow you and the person you're  engaging, innocent bystanders who are not interested in your conversation will not have to see it.

Twitter did not always do this. All replies were seen by everyone no matter what.  While this forced change of Twitter behavior caused a huge furor at the time, as with many Twitter changes, the userbase had no choice but to eventually learn to accept and live with it.  In fact, even I have come to welcome the change. But then, I never did mind the logic. It was the very confusing way they chose to implement it (and spring it on us without much diplomacy) that irked me (and others).

Again, back in May of 2009, I wrote about Twitter's "Replies Issue."  Read it if you like the grim details. Otherwise, find something better to do—such as keep on reading.

But doesn't using this trick make it hard to follow a conversation?

Sometimes, but rarely. The downside is that it breaks Twitter's native connections, so users of Twitter.com (and some clients), cannot "thread together" the stream of messages between the two participants. This is often called "reading the conversation."

Why don't I (and possibly you) care?  Because the best "conversations" usually involve many more than two people anyway, and the threading never worked for that at all.  So I simply use "search" of all the names I care about. It's an extra step, but since most of my frequent engagements are all with people I follow anyway, we all see each other's updates. So it's only only when the discussion is with someone I don't follow, or when  I want to see what the whole herd is saying that I bother to use the search method. But I do it so often, it's not a bother. I usually have a browser search page open all the time, and I just change the names and press go.

Should you always use this technique?

Absolutely not. The rule of thumb should be "Is this something of interest to enough of my followers that I want them all to see it?"  If the answer is no, then simply reply normally without the period.

So why does @Shoq appear to use it so often?

Three reasons:

  1. Because the majority of my tweets are about political or social issues that I feel are of interest to all or most of my stream or they probably wouldn't be following me in the first place.
  2. I may be responding to some wingnut with a dozen followers and I want to amuse or inform my stream about the idiot.
  3. I use it so often for 1 and 2 above that it's become a habit I don't always break when I should. Me so bad. I hate me for it. You can too.

Doesn't Tweetdeck (and other clients*) give you the option to see all replies?

Yes, it does. But Tweetdeck is only one of dozens of popular clients*, and support for this special feature is very rare at this time. And Twitter.com (the client which most people still use), has no such support.

Why doesn't Twitter just build an option into their client?

Because neither software development nor software developers are very rational entities. They do things in their own way, in their own time frame, and for their own reasons. They really don't give a rodent's rectum what you think about it.

But not all developers are total asshats. Hell, if I ruled the world—or at least Twitter— I would implement a "Reply and Reply to All" feature. Just like email. Yeah, it's simple. That's why they missed it.

Where can I learn more?

You can't. All of human knowledge on this topic stops right here. You could Google for it and prove me wrong, but nothing good could come of that. This issue is confusing enough, and you have already been well-armed with all that really matters. Learn to be content with the easy answers. There are so many hard ones that we all need to worry about.

*Oh, and WTF is a "Client?"

Something I get asked about often, so I think I should finally explain it here, even if it has very little to do with Twitter replies.

I can do that, because, at least within the narrow confines of this document, I rule the world :)

A client is a term programmers and us techy types like to use to describe a program that communicates with another programmed service on a remote computer somewhere. Tweetdeck is a client for Twitter, Google Reader is a client for news feeds, etc..  Often, many clients will exist for the same service. (Twitter has hundreds, but only a dozen or so good and well supported ones).

How do I use a Bidet?

Now this is something you could have Googled for yourself. But as you have so often come to expect from me, I've saved you all that time and effort. You're welcome.

How to use a Bidet Properly (Video)