Who to follow learns to say 'Follow back'
Suggestions now spot the developers who already follow you and offer to return the favor. The button gets a wider minimum so the row stays put when it flips to Following.
You open the Who to follow column after lunch and one of the three suggestions is a name you recognize, someone who already follows you. The button beside it no longer says Follow. It says Follow back. Click it and the label turns into Following, then offers Unfollow when you hover, and the row stays exactly where it was.
Credit goes to SanderMuller, who taught the suggestion list to look both ways. For each name it already picks, the same query now asks whether that person follows you, and passes the answer back alongside the follower count. No extra trip to the database. The button's minimum width rises from 96 to 104 pixels so 'Follow back' and the shorter 'Following' share one width, and a screen reader hears 'Follow back @username', matching what your eyes see.
One catch. Knowing who follows you does not move them up. The column still ranks by how many of your follows follow them, then by follower count, and deals three at a time from up to 30 network candidates and 20 popular names. A follow-back you would want can wait several refreshes, and nothing else marks it.