One change that has already begun to roll out to a limited number of users is a feature called 'open'. It allows users to see tweets, re-tweet and reply as threaded messages. This makes it MUCH easier to follow a Twitter discussion.

So far, Twitter has not officially announced the changes, nor made available to all users. Perhaps, because they want to test the waters with the features and tweak, rather than deal with a huge backlash. Facebook made changes to its site earlier this year and though mass defections never materialised, mass complaints did.

Many Twitter users will never see the changes however, because, rather than visiting the site, they, well we, use a variety of apps to access tweets. Among the popular apps: mobile Twitter for BlackBerry, Android and iOS (i.e. iPhones and iPads), TweetDeck and UberSocial. These apps, source, sort and process Twitter data is a more palatable form than the Twitter website.

With so many access points and so few rules, Twitter is a lot like the wild, wild, west of the Internet. But just because there are not defined rules doesn't mean we can't introduce some basic etiquette. For example:

You don't need to post anything at all, you can just shut up and read

You don't have to read every single tweet

You don't have to respond to every mention

Quote the original tweet in your reply or be specific so others can follow the conversation

Credit the original author, but not everyone who retweeted the post

Don't curse, Twitter is public and you have no control over who can see it

Check links before retweeting and cite the source

I'd love to see Twitter make a few other changes, like eliminate duplicate and fake accounts. But I guess that is part of the fun of Twitter, freedom of expression and freedom to spoof!