Twitter testing new threaded replies, will show who is online in new set of features

Twitter is testing a few interesting features related to a user’s presence and new threaded conversations on the social platform. The company’s head Jack Dorsey last week sent out a tweet indicating that Twitter might soon get a bunch of new features, including one that will tell who is currently online. The features will even help users follow Twitter conversation threads easily as well.

‘Playing with some new Twitter features: presence (who else is on Twitter right now?) and threading (easier to read convos),’ Dorsey posted in his tweet along with a few samples. Sara Haider, Twitter’s director of product management, also tweeted out a couple of screenshots to reveal the changes the company is planning to make in its platform. The screenshots show off threaded conversations and status indicators.

TechCrunch points out that the “presence” feature will make it easier for users to engage with those whom they follow, when they are online ‘at the moment’ and the “threading” feature, on the other hand, will enable users to follow a conversation more easily than the current ’embed and click-through method.’

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Twitter in its social platform asked users about their “thoughts” on the new features to which many users expressed their concern mostly about the online status. While Twitter is toughening its rules on online harassment and impose penalties for misconduct, the ‘presence’ feature might not be appropriate given that people continue to face trolling and abuse on the platform.

The Verge notes that a ‘status update’ might not be a smart move considering how trolls could use it to ensure ‘their replies are being seen.’A Twitter user by the name @Staci D Kramer in a tweet said, “Not a fan of presence in this kind of space so would prefer opt-in if it happens. The reply threading looks promising and could be a big improvement as long as there’s still a way to read a thread without interruption.”

Sara Haider responding to one such tweet (via TechCrunch) said that she “would definitely want you to have full control over sharing your presence.”

Although Twitter seems to have rolled these new features to a select ‘test group,’ it is still not clear when the company plans to roll out the same to the general public