Twitter Guide For Authors & Illustrators > ReTweets and Sharing > I want to retweet someone's post, but it's too long. Is it ok if I modify their post to shorten it?
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Q. I want to retweet someone's post, but it's too long. Is it ok if I modify their post to shorten it?
***Updated 2015: Twitter has changed its retweet feature to make it easier for users to add a comment before making a blind retweet. See my edit to "What is an RT?"
Some people may disagree, but I think this is fine as long as you keep the original context. NEVER abbreviate the tweet in such a way that it changes the original meaning or intent. I'd also advise against using too many abbreviations; it makes the tweet too hard to understand.
And proofread the abbreviated post! I've had people retweet my posts but with their typos added in -- making it looks as if *I* was the one who made the typos. Not good.
If you do modify someone's tweet, prefix it with MT "Modified Tweet" instead of RT. Also see "What does MT mean?"
To encourage people to keep your tweet intact when they share it, I strongly advise keeping your tweet to 120 characters or less. That also leaves room for the person to add a brief personal comment, if they wish.
Last updated on October 15, 2015 by Debbie Ridpath Ohi