Will I ever see @replies from people I don't follow?

While there is no actual feature in place yet for this, you still have two fairly reliable ways to find tweets addressed to you or which mention you:

1) Set up a Twitter Track alert for your user name.

This works really well if you have a fairly distinct user name.

For more on Twitter Tracking, see http://help.twitter.com/index.php?pg=...

2) Use Terraminds or Tweetscan to search for your user name.

Terraminds: http://www.terraminds.com/twitter
Tweetscan: http://www.davidsterry.com/tweetscan

Both these services are third-party sites that are not affiliated with Twitter.

Both provide RSS feeds for any search term that you enter.

Both only have access to the public timeline, so messages from private Twitter accounts that contain your user name will not be found by these services.

I'd really like this feature.

I would love this feature. I want to know when people @ me when I don't follow them, just as I want others (if they so desire) to be able to see me @'ing them when they don't follow me. Having the option is key. I'm not so worried about spam, and whoever is can disable it.

In settings, there are 3 choices for @ replies: receive all @ replies, receive @replies to the people I'm following, or no @ replies

I also search for any other replies with tweetscan.com or terraminds.com.

I seem to be getting @replies from people I don't follow anyway. I think. But I definitely want this feature. I don't want people writing to me without my being able to see it. (And Twitter tracking is not available on the web. And yeah, you can set up a search, but it's an extra step or two.)

Yes, other people have reported receiving @replies from people that they don't follow, which according to Twitter's FAQ page on @replies shouldn't happen (scroll down to the "some questions you may have" section).

Thanks, mdy. I very much hope the mistake of my getting @replies from non-friends isn't corrected anytime soon!

I would love a feature (read: "option") where you see replies to *you*, even if you're not following the person making the reply. Who knows, maybe you'll find that person interesting and follow them later on.

Yes, I would like an option to see @ replies to me from people I don't follow.

I agree with everyone else. I would love to have @ replies that are directed at me shown to me even when I do not follow them. I know for many people, (not me), many people follow them that they do not even know, but it may be good for them to see what they write to them..

In a blogpost earlier this month, Twitter said that the Replies Tab will now show @replies addressed to you, even from people you're not following.

Twitter's FAQ page on @replies has also been updated to reflect this. Here's the relevant excerpt:

All replies to you show up under this tab regardless of whether you follow the person replying, unless you've blocked the person, in which case their replies will not show up.

Awesome, Thanks!

Hi Sarah. I believe the behavior of replies has changed since this topic was first started.

Currently, you can see @replies addressed to you in your Replies tab at http://twitter.com/replies whether or not the sender is someone that you follow, provided you haven't blocked them.

The reverse works too -- people who don't follow you can see the @replies you've sent them, provided the other party hasn't blocked you and you don't have your updates protected (private).