Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, has issued a directive advising users to avoid overusing bold fonts in their posts. This follows Musk’s frustration over the excessive use of the feature, which he claims diminishes the overall appeal and readability of the platform’s content.
Musk announced that posts containing bold text would no longer be prominently displayed on the platform’s main timeline. Instead, users will now need to click on the post details to view any bolded content.
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“The bold feature was designed to help users emphasise certain parts of their messages, but its overuse has become problematic,” Musk explained. In a candid post, he further expressed his frustration, stating, “You will have to click on post details to see anything in bold. My eyes are bleeding.”
The change, effective immediately, impacts both web users and those on iOS and Android apps.
Until recently, bold and italic text formatting was only available on X’s web version, but their rollout on mobile platforms has triggered a surge in usage.
This update is part of Musk’s ongoing efforts to maintain the platform’s aesthetic integrity and user-friendliness. The new rule aims to remind users to maintain readability and avoid cluttering their posts with excessive formatting.
By requiring users to click through to view bold text, X aims to enhance the visual experience and ensure that posts remain clean and engaging. The platform hopes this adjustment will improve the overall quality of content displayed on its main feed.
Musk introduces block feature on X
In a separate development, Musk has also introduced significant changes to the platform’s Block feature. Currently, users can block an account, preventing the blocked user from engaging with or seeing their posts.
However, according to changes spotted by independent app researcher Nima Owji, X will soon allow users to view an account’s public posts even if they have blocked that account.
Musk commented on this update, saying it was “high time this happened.” While the current version of the block button prevents any engagement with blocked users, individuals could still log out or view the public account’s posts from another browser.
First Published: Oct 01 2024 | 2:47 PM IST