Reaction to Twitter's new Fleet function has been mixed, and the company has slowed the global rollout due to technical issues. Twitter, Unsplash
Reaction to Twitter's new Fleet function has been mixed, and the company has slowed the global rollout due to technical issues. Twitter, Unsplash
Reaction to Twitter's new Fleet function has been mixed, and the company has slowed the global rollout due to technical issues. Twitter, Unsplash
Reaction to Twitter's new Fleet function has been mixed, and the company has slowed the global rollout due to technical issues. Twitter, Unsplash

Twitter’s new Fleet function roll-out 'slowed' due to technical issues


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Just two days after Twitter rolled out its new Fleet function, the platform is struggling to keep up with user demand for its latest service, leading to mixed reviews across the platform.

"We're slowing down the roll-out of Fleets to fix some performance and stability problems," Twitter Support tweeted this morning.

"If you don’t have the feature yet, you may not get it for a few more days. We love that so many people are using Fleets and want to ensure we’re providing the best experience for everyone."

Taking their cues from Snapchat and Instagram stories, Fleets are tweets that disappear after 24 hours. The new function was rolled out in select markets on Tuesday, November 17, including India, Italy, South Korea and Japan, and had been available in Brazil since March. The icon appears at the top of users' timelines on the Twitter mobile app.

“Because they disappear from view after a day, Fleets helped people feel more comfortable sharing personal and casual thoughts, opinions, and feelings,” Twitter wrote in a blog post.

Fleets, which can include text, video, photos and gifs, cannot be retweeted or liked and are not open to public replies. However, if your direct messages are open, anyone can react to your Fleet, whereas if your DMs are private, only your followers can see and react to them.

Reports from users that the update is lagging or even crashing the app have been taken as a sign of Fleet’s popularity, and the platform has said it is working on the problem.

Other users claim the function button has appeared in their app, but they are unable to use it.

The hashtag #Fleet was trending globally soon after the international rollout, and the function appears to be Twitter’s reaction to accusations they have been trailing behind their tech contemporaries when it comes to innovation.

While plenty of users were thrilled with the latest addition to the app, many were lamenting Twitter still not adding an edit button.

Elsewhere, Twitter announced this week their plans to take on audio-based social networking app, Clubhouse – which is still in private-testing phase – by checking their own audio spaces functions, which will allow for live conversations between two people or groups.

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Read more:

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Our legal advisor

Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.

Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation. 

Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

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6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m​​​​​​​
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m​​​​​​​
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m​​​​​​​
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m

Primera Liga fixtures (all times UAE: 4 GMT)

Friday
Real Sociedad v Villarreal (10.15pm)
Real Betis v Celta Vigo (midnight)
Saturday
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Levante v Deportivo La Coruna (10.15pm)
Girona v Malaga (10.15pm)
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Sunday
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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.

Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines: 

Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.

Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.

Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.

Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.

Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.

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  • I would recommend writing out the text in the body 
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  • But I recommend you use the bullet point function (see red square)
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1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday

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5) Don't be rushed into a sale 

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Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km

Federer's 11 Wimbledon finals

2003 Beat Mark Philippoussis

2004 Beat Andy Roddick

2005 Beat Andy Roddick

2006 Beat Rafael Nadal

2007 Beat Rafael Nadal

2008 Lost to Rafael Nadal

2009 Beat Andy Roddick

2012 Beat Andy Murray

2014 Lost to Novak Djokovic

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2017 Beat Marin Cilic

How it works

Booklava works on a subscription model. On signing up you receive a free book as part of a 30-day-trial period, after which you pay US$9.99 (Dh36.70) per month to gain access to a library of books and discounts of up to 30 per cent on selected titles. You can cancel your subscription at any time. For more details go to www.booklava.com

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Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
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Don’ts 

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Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana

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