Glossary
Mention
Also called: @mention, User tag
A mention is a reference to another person inside a post, comment or message that links to their profile and usually sends them a notification. In many apps you create one by typing @ followed by a name or handle.
Reviewed
What happens when you mention someone
- Their name becomes a link to their profile, so readers can see who you mean.
- They get a notification, often a push notification as well as an in-app alert, so they can find the post even if they don't follow you.
- Everyone who can see the post can see the mention. It is a public nod, not a private message.
Example: you post “Huge thanks to Priya Nair for sharing her conference notes.” Priya is notified and can reply, react or share it. Anyone reading the post can tap through to her profile.
Mentions, hashtags and replies are different tools
| Tool | Points to | Who is notified | Use it to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mention | A person | The person named | Credit, include or ask someone |
| Hashtag | A topic | Nobody directly | Make a post findable by subject |
| Reply | A post or comment | Usually the author | Continue an existing conversation |
- Mention
- Points to:A person
- Who is notified:The person named
- Use it to:Credit, include or ask someone
- Hashtag
- Points to:A topic
- Who is notified:Nobody directly
- Use it to:Make a post findable by subject
- Reply
- Points to:A post or comment
- Who is notified:Usually the author
- Use it to:Continue an existing conversation
Using mentions well
Mention people when they are genuinely part of the post: you are thanking them, quoting them, or asking them something. Mentioning a dozen people to get attention for a post reads as spam, and on most platforms it trains people to mute you.
If someone mentions you in a way you don't like, you usually can't remove your name from their post yourself. Your options are to ask them to edit it, mute or block them, or report the post if it breaks the platform's rules.
On Asyncbit
On Asyncbit you mention people by display name, and only people in your follow graph can be mentioned. Asyncbit has no usernames or handles, and there is no @-mention autocomplete — you type the name yourself. The person you mention is notified, and mention alerts have their own switch in notification preferences. Mentions live in posts on the social feed; for anything personal, a private chat is the better place (1:1 chats need a mutual follow).
See it for yourself
Asyncbit is free, with no paid tier and no ads. Everything described here is available from the first day.
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