Saying Twitter has a problem with trolls is like saying botoxing your scalp is a bad idea. Everyone knows it already.
Now Twitter is taking more anti-troll steps by rolling out a Safety Center that gives users access to resources, tips and policies that could improve the service's experience.
Much of the content isn't actually new. It's mostly no-brainer tips, such as how to make your password stronger or how to report accounts. Other areas merely link to existing content elsewhere on Twitter.
For example, folks looking for advice on what if they experience violent threats via Twitter are merely rerouted to another section. The same goes for information about Twitter's anti-abuse policy and updates, which links to a company post from April.
However, the efforts don't necessarily make Twitter any safer for users, a problem outgoing CEO Dick Costolo acknowledged when he said the company sucked "at dealing with abuse and trolls" in a memo obtained by The Verge back in February.
For example, a research study released this spring by the anti-discrimination group Kick It Out found that in the case of European soccer players, 88% of troll attacks online occurred on Twitter, trailed by Facebook (8%), forums (3%) and blogs (just 1%).
In this case, the social network finally created a central hub instead of leaving it up to users to fish around the site for the information they need if an issue comes up.
i'm v disappointed in the @twitter safety center.it links out to other pages and doesn't clearly outline anything. https://t.co/UoURxcnGsQ— caroline sinders (@carolinesinders) July 21, 2015
Twitter's latest attempt to combat trolling follows recent months of expanding its
The company also announced several new
The Safety Center doesn't move the needle that much for user safety, but like last week's new data dashboard, Twitter is making it easier to access the information needed to better protect themselves on the site.
Although the hub should have come sooner, it's clear Twitter is getting serious about safety, one small step at a time.