Twitter - reached my limit of searches?

[soi098]

I've just started using Twitter and whilst searching for some people to "follow" it told me i had reached my limit of searches. Is this normal? What is the limit and why is there one? When can I carry on searching?
>:-(

[Arnak]

Hi,

Here is the info on Twitter limits :-

Why does Twitter have limits?

Twitter limits alleviate some of the strain on the invisible part of Twitter, which prevents error pages and down time on the visible part. For the sake of reliability (fewer robots and whales) we've placed limits on actions like following, API requests per hour, and number of updates per day. This doesn't restrain reasonable usage, and will not affect most people. Although the limits are a recent addition to Twitter, we've always been about limits, starting with 140 characters per update. We embrace the idea that constraint inspires creativity.


What are the limits?

We're starting with a few limits based on various parameters, and we'll be adding more as time goes on. We reveal some limits only when you reach them, and tell you about others in advance. Twitter currently applies limits to any person who reaches:

* 1,000 total updates per day, on any and all devices (web, mobile web, phone, API, etc. )
* 1,000 total direct messages per day, on any and all devices
* 100 API requests per hour

We've also placed limits on the number of people you can follow. The number is different for everyone, and is based on a ratio that changes as the account changes. If you hit a follow limit, you must balance your follower/following ratio in order to follow more people- basically, you can't follow 50,000 people if only 23 people follow you. Based on current behavior in the Twitter community, we've concluded that this is both fair and reasonable.

With the exception of the follow limit, all limits are time based, so you'll be able to try again in 24 hours.

So you should be OK 24 hours after you hit a limit.

Arnak