Confused by D.C. Metro's Incoherent Tweets? That's Probably Because

Because they've been cut short by bumbling implementation of what ought to be a dead-simple feature. According to the Washington Post, the D.C. Metro system has been sending out alerts via 140-character messaging system Twitter for months—and still hasn't figured out the whole "140-character limit" thing. 

In March, Metro set up a Twitter account and configured software to tweet onto the popular social networking site all of the advisories about service disruptions already e-mailed to subscribers.

Because a majority of the alerts are longer than the 140-character limit, Twitter has been truncating them automatically. As a result, Metro's updates sometimes leave the agency's 1,507 followers scratching their heads.

What did Metro mean, for instance, when it posted: "No Line: There is no Blue line train service between Rosslyn & King Street. Shuttle bus service is established. Customers are encouraged to"?

"Encouraged to take cab," perhaps? Or maybe "encouraged to unsubscribe?" Or here's a thought: What if it's just a 

 

(You didn't see that one coming, did you?)  

Thankfully, D.C. Metro employees think it's a gas, too: 

"We find humor in that as well," Metro spokeswoman Cathy Asato said.

Asato also tells the Post that D.C. metro wants to make its feed "be the most useful thing it can be." You mean more useful than an object of ridicule and a symbol of governmental incompetence? I can only think of one thing that meets that description, and it's

Michael Moynihan wrote about how Twitter affected the recent demonstrations in Iran here. 

Comments

[Joe M]

Government is dumb yay.

[Rich]

Possibly an artifact of D.C.’s pervasive opposition to term limits?

[Hugh Akston]

Oh man you guys will we ever get tired of the Twitter and Twitter-based humor? LOL

[HeadTater]

Further proof that government (especially a very liberal one such as DC’s) can’t get anything right.

[ed]

Confused by D.C. Metro’s Incoherent Tweets?

No. I live in the real world.

[Geotpf]

It looks like they simply ported announcements from sort of other service over to Twitter, and they were not used to

having to cut off what they were saying after 140 characters.

[Hugh Akston]

A thread winner on only the fifth post. Nicely played ed.

[yellow line rider]

Gotta luv DC Metro. Can’t hear their announcements, the message boards aren’t working most of the time, I stopped getting their alert e-mails. Why should their Twitter posts be any different?

[Pro Libertate]

I find that if I ignore all of the media hysteria over the social network du jour, I have more time to waste posting meaningless blog comments.

Like this one.

[#]

God what a childish piece.

[Invisible Finger]

Most Congresscum read the health care bill via Twitter.

[ed]

Invisible Finger | August 21, 2009, 5:44pm | #

Most Congresscum read the health care bill via Twitter.

140 characters at a time? That explains much.

[Invisible FInger]

No, 140 characters in total.

[JB]

DC Metro employees aren’t exactly hired for their qualifications.

[ed]

Invisible FInger | August 21, 2009, 6:08pm | #

No, 140 characters in total.

It’s funny. ‘Cause, you know…

It’s true.

[JW]

But will they fire drivers who tweet while driving? They know their jobs are safe if they exceed the 140 character limit, at least.

[The Libertarian Guy]

How many billions did it cost to implement the DC Metro Twitter account?

[Vic Cabb]

I’ve got a suggestion. Move to fuckin’ Arlington, you are within either a car ride or metro ride away from the whole shitty city.

Alexandria will also suffice.

[Douglas Fletcher]

So did they ever fix those escalators?

[Douglas Fletcher]

“Move to fuckin’ Arlington, you are within either a car ride or metro ride away from the whole shitty city.”

I moved to Arizona. A strange place in many ways, but never as weird and annoying as DC, so far.