Mentions and follows
How to use @mentions to connect in comments and posts, how mentions notify people, and how they differ from following.
Reviewed regularly to match the current app.
Overview
Mentioning and following are two different ways to connect with poets on GS Poetry. A follow is a lasting connection that shapes whose work reaches whom. A mention is a one-time tap on the shoulder — a way to bring a specific poet into a specific conversation. This article covers how to use @mentions, how they notify people, and how they differ from follows.
Using @mentions to connect
To mention someone, type @ followed by their username wherever you’re writing — in a comment, a post, or when you share your thoughts. As you type, GS Poetry pops up a short list of matching poets; keep typing to narrow it, then pick the right person with your mouse or the arrow keys and Enter. The finished @username becomes a link readers can tap to open that poet’s profile.
Mentions are perfect for pulling a friend into a thread they’d enjoy, crediting a poet whose work inspired yours, or answering someone by name so they know the reply is for them.
How mentions notify people
When you mention a poet, they receive a “You were mentioned” notification with a link straight to the comment or post where their name came up — so a mention is an active way to reach someone, not just a decoration. A few things worth knowing:
- You don’t have to follow someone to mention them, and they don’t have to follow you. Any poet you can find, you can tag.
- Blocks are respected both ways. If either of you has blocked the other, the mention won’t notify them.
- Private and followers-only work stays private. A mention never reveals a poem someone isn’t allowed to see, so tagging a poet in restricted work won’t leak it to them.
Mention on purpose, not on reflex. A well-placed @mention that genuinely involves someone is welcome; tagging poets who aren’t really part of the conversation reads as spam and wears out its welcome fast.
How follows differ from mentions
It’s easy to mix the two up, so here’s the short version:
- A follow is an ongoing relationship — it puts a poet’s work into your home stream and puts your work in front of your followers, every time you publish. Mentioning someone does not follow them.
- A mention is a single moment — one notification tied to one comment or post. It doesn’t create a connection or change whose work reaches whom; it just brings that person to that spot once.
Use follows to build your audience over time, and mentions to connect in the moment. For everything on the follow side — what a follow does and how to grow yours — see Build your following.
Where to go next
To grow a real audience, see Build your following. For how following works on Private profiles, see Follow requests. And for keeping conversations kind, see Commenting etiquette. Still need a hand? Contact support.