[I debated whether to put this in my personal Blog, but I would like feedback from anyone who can answer my questions or provide advice, and I don’t like not being able to edit or delete our blogs.]
I am a relatively new Twitter user, having only had my Twitter account for about a month. I personally have had no problems on Twitter (which might or might not have anything to do with the fact that I behave on Twitter). However, based on recommendations from a few other G+G members, I decided to check out a Twitter alternative called Parler.
First, Phone Number is currently a required field when creating a Parler account. I never gave Twitter any phone number; I didn’t need to, because Twitter never required one. I refuse to give any social media site my phone number or home address. To create an account for Parler, I had to provide a fake one. After practicing my log out/log in I noticed every time I log in, I am asked for the phone number, and I’m not sure exactly why. Yes it is fake, but does it know? I can “skip” the request, but then I’m presented with a “captcha” — Every. Single. Time. This is going to be a problem, a potential deal breaker. +1 Twitter
Second, I can find no way to modify my email address in Parler account settings. Do I have to contact customer service every time I want to change the email address on my Parler account? I am able to modify my own email address myself on Twitter. I actually did submit that question to Parler support. +1 Twitter
Third, I skipped all “Follow” suggestions when signing in for the first time, yet my Notifications instantly listed messages from a few people I didn’t recognize plus one I did – Rand Paul. The message was worded as though he was speaking to me directly, but of course it was automated. I didn’t “follow” these people, so why is Parler putting their messages in my “Feed”; why are their messages worded so that it seems they are really talking to me; and how often does this happen? It’s kinda creepy. I was able to remove each message one by one. Maybe this is just a one-time “welcome” feature? Benefit of the doubt – no score.
I don’t know any video game news outlets on Parler. Not a single one. Pending? – no score.
I experienced a lot of lag typing in the Parler search box, because it tries to search before I stop typing. Twitter waits until I’ve stopped typing. +1 Twitter
Parler has both UP-voting and DOWN-voting. Based on my previous obvservations in discussion boards having both….. +1 Twitter
An ad counter I use reports several ads on the Parler site, but none for Twitter or Geeks+Gamers.com. +1 Twitter
I created a reply to a post on the “Parlor Support” account (the profile of the account invited users to do this). Back to my profile, “1 Comment” was displayed – good. But viewing the reply from my profile, it is impossible to determine to whom the comment/reply was directed. (Twitter displays “Replying to…”) Double-clicking the reply did nothing. +1 Twitter
Very buggy. After I deleted a test comment, a box popped up with these words: “Success! Comment created.” I tried again, same thing. Eventually I had to leave because the site became completely unresponsive. My profile showed “2 following”, but clicking on that showed an empty list. Typing in the search bar started showing 0 results, no matter what I typed. I decided to log out and log back in, and…then the log in box just sat frozen. A few minutes later, it became responsive again. +1 Twitter
Current Running Score:
Parler – 0
Twitter – 7
My current consensus: I do not like Parler. I probably won’t keep my account there, but I’ll wait a few days before deciding.