Increase Post Character limit to 500.

[jcx616]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

This is a feature request related to product enhancement.

Describe the solution you'd like

I propose increasing the post character limit from 300 to 500, including hashtags and emojis. This change will align our platform with others, facilitate sharing more comprehensive ideas, and complement the upcoming video feature, ensuring a diverse content range.

Some reasoning as to why 500 characters:

1) Competitive Edge: Many platforms with higher character limits, such as LinkedIn and Facebook, see high engagement with longer, more informative posts. By offering a 500-character limit, Bluesky can/might attract users who prefer these detailed interactions while maintaining the platform's unique style.

Supporting material: Hubspot blog: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/character-count-guide

Feedback from some Bluesky users:

I really would post more here if the character limit was larger. 🥴

— Wilson Cruz (@wilsoncruz.bsky.social) Apr 30, 2024 at 4:57 AM

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I could like BlueSky if the character limit was larger. As I cross-post on BlueSky and Post I find myself editing down my rants. Rants are not meant to be edited.

— Larry Wayne (@larryranting.bsky.social) May 7, 2024 at 10:45 PM

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300 character limit isn't enough to allow for nuance in many cases, yet I've seen people here incredibly against increasing it to something like 3000+, just because twitter was smaller and they got used to it. We really need larger character limits here.

— Epsi (@hotchoccy.space) May 19, 2024 at 7:19 PM

**2) Improved User Satisfaction:** Users often find character limits restrictive. Increasing the limit provides more flexibility, reducing the need for abbreviations, fragmented posts, or threading. This change was positively received when Twitter increased its limit from 140 to 280 characters, leading to clearer and more expressive communication​ _Supporting material:_ Hootsuite blog: https://blog.hootsuite.com/ideal-social-media-post-length **3) Enhanced Content Diversity:** Allowing more characters enables users to share more detailed and comprehensive thoughts, ideas, and updates. This can enrich the platform's content quality and variety, supporting deeper engagement and conversation. This idea aligns with findings that medium-length posts often perform well on platforms like Threads. _Supporting material:_ Buffer Blog: https://buffer.com/resources/optimal-length-social-media/ Status Brew Blog: https://statusbrew.com/insights/social-media-post-length/ **Describe alternatives you've considered** I considered maintaining the 300-character limit for timeline display and placing any additional content under a 'Show More' button. This approach would prevent timeline clutter but might disrupt the reading flow and engagement, as users would need to take extra steps to view longer posts. **Additional context** Mockup of what the "Show More" option could look like - 

[monicaellerose]

would def need to have the show more to be included, -- could be a neat update if it increased when we get improved threading

[enn-nafnlaus]

As always, I vote for "let the user decide". If people want to write more, sure, go ahead. But everyone should get to decide how much they want to see as a max per-post as well. So if you write a lot, your post may just get cut off with a "(more)" button to those who don't want to see long posts.

[Bossett]

As a counterpoint - I think all these are perhaps better solved by leaving the limits low, and implementing good threading/authoring, if this is indicated in the main timeline, a user can now click in if they're actually interested. This kind of gets all the same outcomes, but doesn't require changes to the core timeline experience and 'feel' of the app (there is a lot of friction in asking a user to interact to consume more content, a thread implies that'll be high-value, but an extra 200 chars...?).

There may be a compromise position - leave top-level posts alone, but allow 2nd/3rd posts by the author (authored at the same time as the thread) to be 500-1000 characters

[monicaellerose]

As a counterpoint - I think all these are perhaps better solved by leaving the limits low, and implementing good threading/authoring, if this is indicated in the main timeline, a user can now click in if they're actually interested. This kind of gets all the same outcomes, but doesn't require changes to the core timeline experience and 'feel' of the app (there is a lot of friction in asking a user to interact to consume more content, a thread implies that'll be high-value, but an extra 200 chars...?).

Will absolutely be an improvement when we get the ability to post a thread with multiple posts at once

[mackuba]

Will absolutely be an improvement when we get the ability to post a thread with multiple posts at once

FYI, I accidentally discovered 2 days ago that Mary's Skeetdeck already does this :)