So Weiner sent a picture via twitter. I don't use twitter. How does one go about

[applegrove]

getting messages off of twitter that were not directed at you specifically. Would you have to hack someone's account to get their photos or is it all open to the public. I just don't understand how it works.

[HipChick]

1. you have to figure out what they are using for pic hosting... and find the exploit..

This is what happened here..

http://www.tmz.com/2011/06/02/tito-ortiz-naked-photo-twitter-penis-picture-nude-xxx-hacked/

[TheWraith]

2. Twitter allows you to publicly post 140 character messages.

Those messages can include URLs pointing at websites or photo hosting services. Those messages are also readable by everyone on the internet.

Weiner meant to send a private message, which is like the Twitter equivalent of email, and IS private. He accidentally posted it to all of Twitter, and therefore everyone on the internet.

[targetpractice]

3. Twitter has direct messages and @mentions...

Direct messages are like emails and @mentions are like shout outs... Weiner sent the picture as @mention to that girl, when he meant to send her a direct message. I have a friend who fails to understand the difference when using his cell phone, and everyone who follows him gets to read all his dialog with his other his Twitter friends whenever he goes out.

[HipChick]

4. Think of it as sending a Reply ALL when you meant to send a Reply TO

[blogslut]

5. What the congressman did was hit the wrong button

Instead of sending the infamous message/image to the young woman via Direct Message (which is private in twitterland) he accidentally sent to his public feed. Anyone can read a Twitter user's public feed.

As far as sending images via tweets, that's done via an image hosting service compatible with Twitter. In Weiner's case, the service was YFROG. During the period before the congressman made his confession, an exploit was discovered in the YFROG service that showed how it was possible for one person to upload images to another person's Twitter feed. YFROG has since disabled that exploit - which had no part in the congressman sending a private message/image public by mistake.

As for these other images, apparently, even images sent via Direct (private) Message still show up on a YFROG user's public page. Then again, some of them may have been obtained from emails sent to the women and turned over to Breitbart or that patriotwhatever person.

[SoDesuKa]

6. Hitting the Wrong Button Cost Him His Career

Was Congressman Weiner informed in advance how dangerous this combination of programs is? He seems like a bright enough guy to avoid taking big risks to his career if he knew about them in advance.

The original story here was that Weiner was so reckless that it called for a psychological interpretation. Now we're hearing that the positioning of buttons was so poorly thought out that Weiner never knew what hit him. He was, for all practical purposes, hit by a bus.

Sounds to me that some finger of blame ought to be pointed at Weiner's technical support guys. I assume that he relied on their judgment and their advice. Too bad they weren't more helpful, they might have saved his job.