NHL teams, media, and fans are frustrated with Elon Musk for setting access limits on Twitter the day that 2023 free agency officially began.
When the clock struck noon ET on July 1, the NHL free agency frenzy began. Prior to free agency opening, teams were allowed to speak with their own players, but they had to wait to speak with other players.
Once the signings started, teams and members of the media began rapid-fire tweeting. Unfortunately for those who were sending out the latest updates and fans who were eagerly waiting for the information, access limits on Twitter disrupted the flow of information. Hockey Twitter was not happy with the wrench thrown into the day.
An hour into free agency, Twitter owner Elon Musk sent out a tweet explaining that temporary access limits had been set in place due to system manipulation. Limits were stricter for unverified accounts than for verified accounts. Unverified accounts could only read 600 posts for the day, while verified could read 6,000. Musk sent out updates throughout the day, revealing rate limit increases. By 6 PM ET, unverified accounts were up to 1,000 posts.
Hockey Twitter struggles to maintain access to free agency Twitter updates
Throughout the day, the NHL community struggled to post and view updates on the free agency frenzy. Free agents were flying off the shelf, but information was hard to come by. Retweeting was an issue, removing the ability to share posts from another account. "Rate limit exceeded" became the phrase of the day. Many people ended up locked out of Twitter.
Members of the media grew frustrated. It seemed that once locked out, accounts could still tweet, but they were unable to view any other tweets including their own. This left a lot of media personnel in the dark about what others were posting. Some accounts pleaded with Elon Musk to fix the app.
Official NHL team Twitter pages had a little fun with the Twitter chaos. The Carolina Hurricanes social media team did not miss an opportunity to poke fun at the situation, giving Myspace a shout out. Wait, Myspace is still active? Nashville Predators fans hoping to see a breaking news update were instead treated to a message that said "rate limit exceeded."
As the day wore on and more accounts were locked out of viewing posts, NHL fans grew agitated with their limited access to free agency updates. Fans took to Twitter to post their frustrations about Musk and Twitter. Oh, the irony.
The access limits on Twitter during the free agency frenzy highlighted just how much we rely on Twitter for our latest news. NHL fans scrambled to find information elsewhere. Google, Reddit, Instagram, Facebook. Some people turned on their TVs.
Firing off a tweet into the universe and having others access the tweet was once so easy, Elon Musk. The sports world begs of you, if you're going to mess with Twitter, just don't do it on big news days. Otherwise, we might have to find our Myspace passwords.