Why do I keep getting blocked on Twitter?

I have long been a big proponent of Twitter. I like the concise nature of tweets, determined, of course, by the 140 character limit. I like the repartee that is made possible between people otherwise not ever destined to communicate. And I like the occasional interaction you may be lucky enough to have with famous people or celebrities you admire or like.

What I don’t particularly like are people who do nothing but re-tweet vague articles or other people’s tweets and never actually tweet themselves. I also don’t like the fact that replying to several people at once costs you some of your 140 character allocation. And I definitely don’t like being blocked.

As background, I use Twitter primarily for two things – keeping up on work related themes and following cricket. I have discovered a whole sub-network of highly intelligent, very witty cricket lovers, whose irreverent humour and long-running gags are a constant source of amusement. I also follow the front line journalists too but their contributions are, for obvious reasons, much less “bold”.

And so it came to pass that I have been blocked (as far as I know) by three accounts so far, all of which belong to front line cricket journalists. I don’t believe I have been rude, so I can only assume modern journalists cannot accept criticism. However, I must admit I am in sales and this makes me, by definition, narcissistic. I often believe I haven’t “been” something (in this case rude), when actually I have. So I thought I would garner opinion on whether others think these people were justified in blocking me.

As with anything Twitter related, it must also be pointed out that the site is often not for the faint-hearted. Trolls of the most serious kind dwell there. I have seen retorts, bullying and goading that would be classed as criminal offences. I, on the other hand, ensure I almost never swear (and if ever then very mildly), and I have never threatened or been aggressive to anyone, despite regular desire to be.

As we are mostly talking cricket, it would make sense to use cricketing terms. I don’t believe I deserve to have been blocked for any of these and you can therefore assume I have given the T sign and would like to refer the decisions using cricket’s infamous Decision Review System (DRS).

So, here are my blockers. Should the umpire’s decisions be upheld or overturned? 

Michael Vaughan

The ex-England captain, now broadcaster and journalist for BBC Test Match Special and The Daily Telegraph, amongst others, once tweeted that Paul Gascoigne was his biggest hero of all time.

In response to this, I wanted to let him know I found his choice of hero questionable, given that Paul Gascoigne was an alcoholic wife-beater.

https://twitter.com/rupertcollier/status/609782361576853504

Blocked: 

 Test Match Special

This bastion of the English summer and mainstay of radio cricket commentary for what feels like hundreds of years also maintains a Twitter account. I have always loved TMS and was genuinely upset to be blocked by them. However, they had been using the same (somewhat unedifying) stock picture for several weeks every time they mentioned one of England’s star players, Ben Stokes. It was also a picture of Stokes in his training gear rather than using up to date photos from the specific games he was involved in and that they were reporting on. Lazy journalism as far as I was concerned. So I let them know, a little sarcastically I admit, but come on! Twitter is hardly the place for over-sensitivity.

https://twitter.com/rupertcollier/status/687587174842286081

 Blocked: 

Lizzy Ammon

This is slightly more complicated and needs a bit of background. Lizzy Ammon is a freelance cricket writer for the likes of MSN and can be, in my opinion, a prickly character. She often comes across as a fierce feminist who takes any criticism as a personal attack on her capabilities, both as a journalist and, God forbid, a working woman. Neither of which she actually need have any concerns about, she is a very competent journalist, however she takes offence irritatingly easily. I unfollowed her several months ago before the chip on her shoulder morphed into a field of potatoes. Anyway, I happened to notice she had over-reacted to a perfectly innocent, throw-away comment from The Sun’s cricket correspondent John Etheridge so I decided I had had enough of her constant “oh woe is me” attitude.

https://twitter.com/rupertcollier/status/687587174842286081

Blocked.

So, that's it. Do I deserve it? Should the umpire's decision be upheld or should he be over-ruled and all the above need to re-assess their blocking criteria?

For the record, I have not yet blocked anybody (I don't think). Perhaps I should, it would appear it's en vogue amongst writers and those that aspire to be...