Twitter Changes Default 'Egg' Photo To Discourage Trolls, Tweeple React

On Friday, Twitter announced that it is doing away with its well-known egg avatar as the default profile photo. The company has replaced it with a 'gender-balanced' figure. The egg avatar symbolises the egg that hatches into a bird - Twitter's logo. Over time, however, accounts with the default egg profile pictures have come to be associated with Twitter trolls, negativity and online harassment. In a statement, the company acknowledged that one of the reasons it was doing away with the egg was the negative connotations associated with it.

"We've noticed patterns of behavior with accounts that are created only to harass others - often they don't take the time to personalize their accounts. This has created an association between the default egg profile photo and negative behavior, which isn't fair to people who are still new to Twitter and haven't yet personalized their profile photo," says Twitter in their blog post.

However, Twitter's solution to the problem of online trolling hasn't found many takers. Tweeple are evidently not happy that the well-loved egg avatar, which has for seven years now been the default profile photo, is going to change.

Read some of the reactions below:
 

twitter's answer to complaints of abuse on the platform is to ditch having an egg as the default photo ??? *slow clap* pic.twitter.com/zsttMB4nS6

- Hannah Thompson (@H_L_Thompson) March 31, 2017

twitter replaced the egg avatar pic.twitter.com/SiB0Nxgq0R

- katheryn (@sella_sandra) April 1, 2017

"people were b-EGG-ing us to fix harassment. hehe. I've never spoken to a woman," -- the team at twitter

- PK (@PK_PDX) March 31, 2017

Everybody hates those eggs who troll them so twitter changed their egg DP? Brilliant move!

- PS (@rimeswithcya) April 1, 2017

People were also not pleased with the new avatar
 

so glad that twiter finaly changed the default egg icon avatar to *checks notes* nose and mouth of yawning polar bear pic.twitter.com/J3tmilybei

- jomny sun (@jonnysun) April 1, 2017

Dear Twitter,

I liked the egg better... pic.twitter.com/9uitvOOx2D

- SCOTT WARNER (@ScottWarner18) April 1, 2017

The decision was mocked relentlessly on the micro-blogging site
 

Me: Can we do something about all these egg accounts?
Twitter: So you don't like the default avatar?
Me: No I mean
Twitter: Say no more, fam

- sudo rm -rf /usa/* (@whatsEJstandfor) March 31, 2017

Us: we're getting harassed by throwaway egg accounts created for that purpose
Twitter: we'll change the avatar

- Matthew R. Francis (@DrMRFrancis) March 31, 2017

What do you think of Twitter's decision? Do let us know using the comments section below.

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