# "hashtag" in tweets? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 1, 2014, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466 "2014-05-01T21:57:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/21 "2014-05-02T18:28:58Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > **Rachellelogram** : Ah, the joys of a changing language! I’m old enough to know “.” as a “period,” not a “dot.” But there you have it. And “!” is not only an “exclamation mark,” but also a “bang”! ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/22 "2014-05-02T19:04:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, the sharp sign is technically a different glyph. It’s only when you don’t have it available that you substitute the pound/hash/number/octothorpe. Here’s a music sharp symbol: ♯. Here’s the pound symbol: #. Note that in the sharp sign, it’s the horizontal bars that are slanted, and in the pound sign, it’s the vertical bars that are slanted. You’re right, of course. > [@Grey](#): > > — … I see what you did there. Help is on its way, but does it need to be sent to you or to Munch? > [@PoorYorick](#): > > And “!” is not only an “exclamation mark,” but also a “bang”! OMG! You’re right! Not to mention “|” is “pipe”. I confess I get a kick out of hearing web addresses mentioned on the radio where they say “forward slash”. Sensible of them, of course, but … 1. fie on Bill&Co for using a back slash as a path component delimiter! 2. what’s the difference between a forward slash and a slash? 3. my wife still gets them mixed up. I try to tell her that “slash” a.k.a. “forward slash” is what you use to make a fraction. Unfortunately, her dyslexia prevents this point from striking home. No end of mirth ensues. I remember “star” being used a lot (especially back at UMich, since public files like \*FTN always began with an asterisk). But we can’t blame that on computers, as “asterisk” implies star. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/23 "2014-05-02T19:31:36Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > I confess I get a kick out of hearing web addresses mentioned on the radio where they say “forward slash”. I _still_ hear URLs announced on the radio where they say “backslash” where a normal “slash” is meant. Drives. Me. Batty. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/24 "2014-05-02T20:18:07Z")
I think calling # “pound” instead of “number” became more common when # became a button on telephone dials. Calling it the number button could be a bit confusing. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/25 "2014-05-02T20:59:37Z")
As an aside, I don’t get the appeal of twitter. I understand how it works, but the fact that it has taken off like it has truly amazes me. I see the benefits of instant tracking, but that only works if people use the hashtag symbol to connect their comment with others. And athletes using it to communicate to whoever is nice to build up their following, but it usually seems to cause more harm than good. Does anyone here us twitter, and if so, what for? ---
**Author:** ![Blakeyrat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blakeyrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blakeyrat)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/26 "2014-05-02T21:14:01Z")
> [@](#): > > Does anyone here us twitter, and if so, what for? Serious use: best way of finding out about traffic issues before I leave the house. [@WSDOT](https://twitter.com/wsdot_traffic) does a great job, and is usually pretty funny also. Non-serious use: slacking off at work. People share jokes, interesting links, griping about annoying stuff, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/27 "2014-05-03T02:03:15Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I think calling # “pound” instead of “number” became more common when # became a button on telephone dials. Calling it the number button could be a bit confusing. Over here, whenever there are instructions given to press that key during some stupid automatic redirection nightmare, it is referred to as “the hash key.” ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Little\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Pig)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/28 "2014-05-03T06:08:28Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > That’s what it’s supposed to do, that was the original idea, that’s certainly not what it’s used for. > > For example: > > Can’t believe it’s my birthday today. #34Today #ImSuperOld #Geezer #GetYurDrinkOn2Nite > No one is searching for those things. If you click on them you’re probably only going to find my tweets (or FB post as the case may be). Somewhere there is a huge indexed file with worthless entries. ---
**Author:** ![antechinus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/fbc32d/32.png) [@antechinus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/antechinus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/29 "2014-05-03T12:01:18Z")
Hash is a corruption of hatch. From #crosshatch. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/30 "2014-05-03T19:00:55Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > . . . Does anyone here us twitter, and if so, what for? I’ve never used Twitter…but then, I’ve never sent a text message of any kind. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/31 "2014-05-03T19:30:38Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > Does anyone here us twitter, and if so, what for? It’s easily the best news aggregator I’ve ever used. I follow major news outlets, who release news via Twitter far faster than I’d receive it elsewhere. Obviously, they post it to their website first, and link it via Twitter - but I’m not on their websites, because they’re awful. I follow sports news reporters that I want to target - general writers, and more specifically, the reporters assigned to the teams I follow. Then there are various organizations that I like to track, and people of interest. I’ve sent a grand total of 352 tweets in 5 years - mostly to sports reporters and fantasy sports analysts. I don’t follow people I don’t know, and I don’t treat it like Facebook or my cellphone to text with. > [@Trinopus](#): > > I’ve never used Twitter…but then, I’ve never sent a text message of any kind. I’m not sure how those are related. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/32 "2014-05-03T21:37:35Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I think calling # “pound” instead of “number” became more common when # became a button on telephone dials. Calling it the number button could be a bit confusing. I never head it called “pound” here in Ontario until certain voice-menu systems started referring to it as “the pound key”. We always called it “number sign”. I’m sure I read a Cecil column mentioning that there was an old US usage of putting it _after_ a number to indicate a weight in pounds though. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2014, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466/33 "2014-05-03T22:23:00Z")
> [@Little\_Pig](#): > > Somewhere there is a huge indexed file with worthless entries. Not just ‘somewhere’, [The Library of Congress](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/technology/15twitter.html?_r=0)…because that makes sense. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hashtag-in-tweets/687466.md?page=1)