Twitter asks the public to try out its redesigned replies design

In an effort to encourage friendlier and more useful discussions, Twitter said last October that it is redesigning its conversations on the platform. Well, Twitter is ready with a tweaked software design of the reply interface which it decided to open up for public testing allowing a wider group of users who can see what the proposed changes look like in practice.

“Twitter is exploring new ways to make the conversations you care about easier to read, understand, and join. Want to see what we’re working on and share your feedback? Apply to be part of our Twitter Prototype Program,” the social networking giant said announcing its beta testing program.

The new design is intended “to make it easier to see more of what people are saying,” the company says. A few changes include, Twitter replies will look like text messages with rounded text bars and will resemble a Reddit thread as replies are also indented. Indenting will help users track the various threads that branch off from the main conversation.

Testers will also get to try out the new “color-coded replies” which will help users to distinguish between the replies from people they follow and from others whom they don't. The original tweeter’s replies will be marked gray and the replies from the people who the user follows will be colored blue.

One more important thing Twitter is focusing on is to de-emphasize engagement numbers. In simple words, in the new design, the number of retweets and likes a tweet receives is hidden until a user clicks to view it. Sharing options and other details of a tweet are also hidden.