Twitter

Table of Contents

  1. A Brief History of Rachelskirts and Twitter
  2. The Master List of Active Accounts
  3. FAQ

A Brief History of Rachelskirts and Twitter

I joined Twitter in May of 2007 as I was finishing up my third year of college. My first tweet had something to do with laundry. Shortly after creating my first account, @Rachelskirts, I was completely addicted and wanting to share my every thought. I refrained, however, realizing how annoying that can be, especially to strangers. I created a private account, @Skirts, for real-life friends only—the friends who might actually want to hear my uncensored thoughts about boys or an evil boss or folding socks.

Within a year or two, I had also collected usernames like @LOTR and @GrammarNazi to give myself other ways to connect with people who are obsessed with Frodo Baggins and semicolons.

My nickname has always lent itself well to spin-off nicknames, so it only made sense that when I was feeling particularly old and haggard one day, I created a @Grannyskirts account. When I found my old Oregon Trail CD and decided to name my party members after Twitter friends, I started a @Trailskirts account and tweeted about the broken wagon wheels and buffalo meat and dysentery. When I got really mad about something, I made a @HULKSKIRTS account.

Over time, creating Twitter accounts became a fun way to connect with friends and keep inside jokes alive. Some of the accounts, like @Deadskirts and @Whiskeyskirts, only get used once or twice a year, but I love knowing they're there, waiting for just the right occasion.

But then, the joke became that I was creating Twitter accounts, so people would suggest names just to see if I could resist the urge to sign up for yet another handle. (Spoiler alert: I cannot.) The madness only came to a halt when I realized I was in charge of fifty Twitter accounts. FIFTY. I decided that I didn't want to handle more than that, so when the time came to create yet another account, I started looking for accounts that had outlived their purpose. Those Twitter handles are flagged on my master list for a probationary period (to allow myself the chance to change my mind), and after a month or two, they are deactivated.

As of this moment, I have 60 active accounts and 11 deactivated accounts.

The Master List of Active Accounts

@Rachelskirts

@Skirts


@Nerdskirts

@CoachSkirts

@HULKSKIRTS

@Riverskirts

@Deadskirts

@Grannyskirts

@Trailskirts

@brokeskirts

@Spaceskirts

@Tigerskirts

@whiskeyskirts

@royalskirts

@curtseyskirts

@tadaskirts

@teeheeskirts

@yarskirts

@rockskirts

@Feetskirts

@Auroraskirts

@iSkirts

@dotdotdotskirts

@skirtsyskirts

@skirtsafterdark

@sassyskirts

@DrFrankenskirts

@hiccupskirts

@skirtsoffire

@scandalskirts

@zombieskirts

@puddleofskirts

@skirtsbot


@GrammarNazi

@MadLibsMonday

@menwithskirts

@TheSkirtsShow

@baconfamous

@CookieDesigns

@SecondBreakfast


@LOTR

@FOTR

@TwoTowers

@ROTK

@_TheHobbit


@GrammarSauron

@Skirtssssssss


@JuanPedro

@Drunk_Ian

@JoeyCuddlez


@Catladriel

@catlady1917

@dotdotdotfrodo

@Skirtspance

@Rachelshirts

@strikslehcar

@drumploop


@winetoreach

@oh_grow_up


super secret account

FAQ

YOU HAVE A MILLION TWITTER ACCOUNTS. DO YOU ALSO HAVE A MILLION EMAIL ADDRESSES?

No, thanks to my favorite Gmail trick, I actually have most of my Twitter accounts attached to one email address. Here's how I do it: rachelskirts@gmail.com is the same as rachelskirts+spam@gmail.com is the same as rachelskirts+sockmonkey@gmail.com is the same as rachelskirts+shadyonlineretailer@gmail.com. All of these email addresses are mine, and I can use those "tags" in a variety of ways.

My top two uses for those tagged email addresses? Twitter and shady online retailers. Not every website will allow you to sign up with an email address that has a plus sign in the middle, but Twitter is one that does. Now you know the secret. Go forth and conquer.

As for the shady online retailers, using the tagged email address, when possible, allows me to then set up a filter to catch retailers who sell my email address without my permission. (My dad used to do something similar to that when signing up for magazine subscriptions and the like; he'd give a different middle initial to companies he didn't trust and then watch to see if that middle initial showed up elsewhere.)

HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THE NICKNAME OF RACHELSKIRTS?

My nickname is my own dang fault, since I frequently run around calling people Señor Crankypants and Moany McWhinypants and, in the case of one lucky friend, Danielpants. His response was to call me Rachelskirts, and the nickname instantly became one of my favorites. Close friends call me Skirts, and my best friends call me Skirtsyskirts.

WHY ON EARTH DO YOU HAVE SO MANY ACCOUNTS?

Because it makes me happy.