Twitter's Suspension Meltdown: Seeking Stability

(MoneyWatch)  If you're on Twitter, you may have noticed that a number of people suddenly started complaining about their accounts being suspended -- a variety including some with large followings. It was no coincidence, though apparently a large accident. So when will this Internet force become reliable?

On Sunday, Twitter noted that it had accidently suspended a number of accounts:

We regret the human error that led to these mistaken suspensions and we are working to restore the affected accounts--we expect this to be completed in the next several hours.One additional note: some the accounts suspended were using the third-party site Tweetlater. However, Tweetlater is not to blame for these suspensions nor is it in violation of our Terms.

But that isn't doing much to calm some of the more irritated users, one IT exec noting, "Twitter is desperately in need of improved operations." Another user commented well into Sunday, "But come on Twitter... at least post on your blog that you're working on it." According to Twitter's time stamps, this was about two hours before Twitter finally posted an update at what appears to have been between 11pm and midnight eastern time, or before 9pm pacific.

That lack of immediate communication and operational shakiness echo complaints I've heard from Twitter add-on developers. With all the participation in that current tech journalistic pastime, "When will Twitter have a business model?" one might wonder if the attention has been on the wrong question. Instead of asking when Twitter would have a business model, it might be more appropriate to ask when Twitter will be able to support one. What other company do you know that would have to create an icon for when it doesn't work?