Social network Twitter, recently rebranded as X, has commandeered the handle “@music” from open-source software developer Jeremy Vaught, who created the account in 2007 and had built a community of around half a million followers there.

X offered Vaught the option to choose from a list of other handles related to the topic of music, but he settled for the assigned account “@musicfan” for now. X ported his followers over to the new account, at least.

The move by X raises questions about the value of a handle on its platform. According to X’s terms of service, the company has the right to remove or refuse to distribute any content, limit visibility of content, suspend or terminate users, and reclaim usernames without liability.

Vaught expressed concerns about the threat of losing a handle, as it may make it hard for creators to trust the platform enough to build there long-term.

Although Vaught had not monetized his “@music” account, he occasionally reviewed consumer hardware, particularly headphones and earbuds, as a social media influencer.

Years ago, Vaught worried that Twitter’s prior management would attempt to take over his handle. However, Twitter decided to leave “@music” alone and established its own “@twittermusic” brand instead.

It’s unclear what X plans to do with the “@music” account now. X posted a photo of musician Ed Sheeran on the account, but representatives for Sheeran, X, and Musk have not provided any comments.

Vaught mentioned his previous investment in another Musk-led company, Tesla, but currently holds no shares. He also reserved a Tesla Cybertruck by paying a $100 refundable fee.

Vaught continues to use X, but has set up accounts on Meta’s text-based competitor Threads and Mastodon. He explained that the software development community is active on Twitter, making it the most interesting social media platform for him.

Vaught expressed disappointment that X took over his handle after investing 16 years into the platform with impersonal correspondence.

When Twitter rebranded to X, it also took over the handle of another long-time user, raising questions about intellectual property and users’ rights on social media.

When X notified Vaught about giving up his username, he was assigned the handle “@musicfan” and offered a list of suggested handles. However, he felt uneasy about the options.

Vaught discovered that “@musicfan” was created in 2011, and he hopes that X hasn’t taken it from another user. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get a definitive answer from X either.

According to Vaught, the whole situation seems questionable.