On Monday, however, Twitter introduced a new change that elicited widespread frustration. Among other changes, the company altered its messaging feature to allow its 288 million users to send anyone who opts in a direct message. While Twitter saw it as a change that makes it “easier than ever to have private conversations,” many people understood it as one more feature that enables harassers and prioritizes profit, something that is sometimes hard to remember is the point on a platform that functions, for many, like a public utility. The backlash to this change is similar to the one last year after the company changed (and then restored) its blocking feature.