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I guess we need to have this conversation again. And I'm going to explain it and thread it so I can refer to it in the future. Ahem.
Please don't tag or @ people when you reply to a tweet and the original tweeter specifically chose not to. Here's an example:
Please don't tag or @ people when you reply to a tweet and the original tweeter specifically chose not to. Here's an example:
I tweet: "Don Lemon sure has shown some growth recently!" And then you respond (either quote tweet or regular) with "Yeah, @/DonLemon is pretty cool now!" But you actually tag him (removing the slash). Which means your tweet is now in his Mentions. You've alerted him.
So then Don goes to look at what you're talking about, & sees my tweet, too. Now, in this example, no big deal. I was saying something nice, you were too, warm fuzzies all around. But what I know is this: if you tag someone without thinking, there's a good chance you do it often.
Here's where it becomes a problem. I say something about Trump, or a racist, or just a generally bad person with a large platform or a lot of fans/followers/trolls. You @ them without thinking. Now... their followers searching for their name, & you've alerted them. See?
You've now driven scores of rabid racist/mean people/whatever into my Mentions. YOUR post is innocuous, so they don't care about you. But I'm a relatively highly visible Black woman with a large platform. You've made me a target. And they come after me. This HAS happened.
It has happened not only to me, but many other highly visible people from marginalized communities on here, especially Black women. All because you @'ed someone we specifically chose not to, we're now receiving threats & harassment. I am not exaggerating. And it was preventable.
My rule is this: If I see you've @'ed someone that I chose not to, I may ask you to delete the tweet. Or I may just block you. We don't have to have a discussion about it. Because there's literally no reason for you to do it. If I wanted to @ them, I would have. I know how.
A term has been coined for this phenomenon: "snitch tagging." Just... don't do it. Perhaps ask yourself WHY you do it. We can have the convo w/o including the person. I've even seen it done when someone is grieving or going through a rough patch. Why would you add to their pain?
To be clear: You have the absolute right to do whatever you want. As do I for my self-care and self-preservation. So if you snitch tag and find yourself blocked by a bunch of folks without knowing why, that *might* be your answer.
This JUST happened. I asked dude “Why did you tag him when I chose not to?” This was his response. I deleted his name because it’s irrelevant. I also blocked him. 
Here's why it's not, deer avi: 2 examples.
1) Co-worker's spouse dies. Me & another co-worker work on a bereavement fund for the family. They don't need to know immediately, right?
2) How often do you have friends of a co-worker threatening your kids?
1) Co-worker's spouse dies. Me & another co-worker work on a bereavement fund for the family. They don't need to know immediately, right?
2) How often do you have friends of a co-worker threatening your kids?
This isn’t true. You underestimate the MILLIONS of tweets that occur every day. If the person doesn’t follow you, doesn’t search their name, there is no “inevitability” that they’ll see it. And, again, it’s often not about them, but their supporters.
A retweet won’t do the same thing unless someone searches their name. Is it possible? Yes. Is it much more likely if you’re in their Mentions via tagging? Yes. True that larger platform = bigger target, but why assist? No true way to insulate yourself.
