One day after being suspended, the Rob Ford satire Twitter account @TOMayorFrod is back online, thanking followers for their patience during "renovations."
Richard Feren's parody Twitter account was temporarily suspended Wednesday.
In his first tweet Thursday afternoon, Feren tweeted:
Welcome back, folks! I'd like to thank you for your patience during our renovations. Sorry for the inconvenience. #Toronto #TOpoli
— Måyor Röb Frød (@TOMayorFrod) February 20, 2014
He later retweeted a message from a parody Twitter account of the mayor's brother, Coun. Doug Ford:
So glad Twitter reinstated my brother @TOMayorFrod. Some scumbag impersonating a mayor had him banned somehow. #TOpoli Frod More Years!
— Dug Ford (@DugFord) February 20, 2014
According to Feren, the account was temporarily suspended by Twitter without "any warning or reason."
The social media service has a list of rules on its website for parody or fan accounts. These accounts must use a different avatar than the user being parodied, and the bio should include a statement to distinguish it.
Feren's parody account prior to being temporarily suspended used the same avatar as the real account, and the bio read: "Official twitter account for Torontno Mayor Rob Frod. Tweets by Mayor Frod & staff."
On Thursday, both the avatar and bio had changed. The new avatar on Feren's account shows Ford smiling and waving, and the bio reads: "Official account for fictional Torotno, Sweden mayor Rob Frod, not related to the allegedly real Toronto, Canada mayor Rob Ford (known to police)."
