Reply Tweets Sometimes Load Without Parent Tweet (Possibly Due to Vine Integration / Cross-Post Testing)

[taha-abbasi]

🚨 Reply Tweets Sometimes Load Without Parent Tweet (Possibly Due to Vine Integration / Cross-Post Testing) 🚨

Describe the bug

When viewing a reply tweet, the primary tweet (parent tweet) is sometimes not displayed as expected. This results in an incomplete conversation view where the reply appears without context. The issue occurs inconsistently but has been observed in cases where the primary tweet fails to be included in the initial API response.

Notably, the issue appears specific to the account @rus, potentially linked to recent tests involving cross-posting Vines, as no other accounts tested exhibited this problem.

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To Reproduce

Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Go to the following primary tweet: Bug Case Primary Tweet
2. Navigate to its reply: Bug Case Reply Tweet
3. Observe that the primary tweet is missing from the conversation view.
4. Compare with a correct case:
   • Primary tweet: Working Case Primary Tweet
   • Reply tweet: Working Case Reply Tweet
5. Notice that in the working case, the primary tweet correctly appears above the reply.

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Expected behavior

When viewing a reply tweet, the primary tweet should always be displayed in the conversation view. The system should ensure that the parent tweet is included in the "get_initial" API response and rendered in the UI.

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Screenshots

🟢 Working Tweet Set (Click to expand)

🔴 Bug Tweet Set (Click to expand)

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Environment

• Platform: Web
• OS: macOS Sonoma 14.6.1
• Device: MacBook Pro (Apple M3 Max)
• Browser: Chrome (latest version as of report submission)
• App Version (if applicable): N/A

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Additional Context (Technical Data Differences)

✅ Working Case Data: Primary Tweet Included

In the working case, the "get_initial" API response includes both the reply and the primary tweet, ensuring the full thread is displayed.

"new_entries": 2,  
"new_tweets": 2,  
"tweet_id": "1885143495729701261",  
"in_reply_to_tweet_id": "1885118735897489912"  

Additionally, the primary tweet appears in the "stream" section, confirming that it was properly placed in the conversation view.

{  
  "item_type": 0,  
  "id": "1885118735897489912",  
  "position": 0,  
  "percent_screen_height_100k": 70954  
}  

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❌ Bug Case Data: Primary Tweet Missing

In the bug case, the "get_initial" event only retrieves the reply tweet, failing to fetch the parent tweet.

"new_entries": 2,  
"new_tweets": 1,  
"tweet_id": "1884475394981515387"  

Additionally, the primary tweet is absent from the "stream" section, meaning the UI never placed it above the reply.

Unlike the working case, we see "ShowMoreThreads" in the bug case:

"event_info": "ShowMoreThreads"  

This suggests the system recognized that tweets were missing but expected the user to manually request them instead of displaying them automatically.

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Potential Causes

1. API failure to include the primary tweet in the initial fetch.
2. UI logic failing to ensure the parent tweet is displayed with the reply.
3. Lazy-loading behavior incorrectly requiring manual user action to retrieve missing content.
4. Possible correlation with @rus's account, which has been involved in recent tests related to cross-posting Vines. If this account is part of an experimental feature rollout, it may be affecting how its tweets are handled in conversations.

This bug impacts the readability of conversations and may confuse users when viewing replies without context.