Mark Hamill begs fans to stop DMing him on Twitter
The Star Wars actor tweets, "#NoDMsPLEASE."
Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
Twitter can put fans in direct internet contact with their acting heroes. Mark Hamill , beloved for his role of Luke Skywalker in the Star Wars franchise, has always been down to chat with fans on the service, but now he's putting limits on his interactions.
Hamill tweeted a heartfelt message Tuesday asking fans to stop sending him direct messages.
"To remain on Twitter I can't respond to DMs anymore. No way to keep up w/ the daily barrage of requests for Donations-Phone Calls-Signatures-Skypes-Birthday Greetings, etc," Hamill wrote. He ended it with a polite "Hope you understand. Love you all but can't keep up w/ all the demands! #NoDMsPLEASE."
To remain on Twitter I can't respond to DMs anymore. No way to keep up w/ the daily barrage of requests for Donations-Phone Calls-Signatures-Skypes-Birthday Greetings, etc. Hope you understand. Love you all but can't keep up w/ all the demands! #NoDMsPLEASE
— Mark Hamill (@HamillHimself) August 1, 2018
A helpful fan told Hamill he could adjust his Twitter settings to only receive direct messages from people he follows.
Another fan dropped a joke into the thread, writing, "Mark, can you sign my petition to keep Twitter DMs open? It would mean a lot to me. And to the people." Hamill responded with "Good one!" and a GIF of a face-palming, laughing chimp.
Mark, can you sign my petition to keep Twitter DMs open? It would mean a lot to me. And to the people.
— Chris Aung-Thwin (@TeamBurma) August 1, 2018
Some fans thought Hamill's DMs may have already been closed to the general public, but the actor could still be receiving messages from people he had prior direct conversations with, even if his account to set to block messages from users he doesn't follow.
Twitter developer David LaMacchia publicly responded to Hamill's tweet, offering to look into the DM issue. "Hey Mark, I work at Twitter and saw this," LaMacchia wrote. "I've forwarded this concern to some other engineers. Would love to ask you a few questions because I want to get more info about the issue. If you get time to DM me (the irony!) please do!"
Hey Mark, I work at twitter and saw this...I’ve forwarded this concern to some other engineers. Would love to ask you a few questions because I want to get more info about the issue. If you get time to DM me (the irony!) please do!
— David LaMacchia (@_dml) August 1, 2018
Hamill is serious about this ban on direct messages. His Twitter profile reads, "NO DMs!" Fans were overwhelmingly supportive of his decision.
While the DM pipeline may be closed, Hamill shows no signs of slowing down his other Twitter activities. He's already retweeted a cute dog video, made a comment about President Donald Trump and responded to a tweet about The Joker's birthday since announcing his DM ban.
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