bluesky
I still have #Bluesky (and #Threads) filtered out of my feeds
That said, I've been opening the filtered posts through "Show anyway" and I keep reading to see what the current thinking is
What no one seems to ever mention to the #BlueskyCurious is that Bluesky is Just Another Web Site
Find a valid URL and open it in a web browser and wander around and see if --> you <-- can find whatever is missing from your life here on #Mastodon
I have, twice, for about 45 minutes on two different days
Bluesky is bland, boring, and just like early #Twitter
Here. Have a go. Wander around. You can't Reply or Like, but you can go anywhere you want
See if --> you <-- can find what's missing in your little life
Can a PDS control which relays index its content?
I feel like I've read everything anyone has ever written about #Bluesky, lol. But I still have questions. In "Bluesky is cosplaying decentralized" the answer appears to be no. However, the post is over a year old now and things change.
Last Week in the ATmosphere – The Links -2411.d
A short introduction: I’ve been writing these Last Week newsletters for a while, and they consists of a News section and a Links section. The News section focuses on the social side of the network, along with the more impactful tech news. The Links section gives all the links to other articles, tech and tools that are relevant to the network. Bluesky is growing so much now that it is not really feasible for me to include both sections in a single newsletter; so today you’ll get all the Links, and tomorrow I’ll send out all the News that has happened in the ATmosphere.
Enjoy, I’m sure there is more than enough interesting links in here.
The Links
Bluesky has been doing community outreach this week:
A second Twitch livestream for Q&A with COO Rose Wan, CTO Paul Frazee and CEO Jay Graber. Hip hop artist Flavor Flav also joined in as a cheerleader for Bluesky.
Paul Frazee and Emily Liu (who does communications for Bluesky) held a Reddit AMA
Decentralisation remains a point of conversation:
Christine Lemmer-Webber, one of the co-authors of ActivityPub, wrote a very extensive article, asking ‘How decentralized is Bluesky really?‘
Bluesky engineer Bryan Newbold wrote a reply to Lemmer-Webber’s article.
While viewpoints differ on decentralisation from a technical perspective, they are in agreement that Bluesky and the ATmosphere is currently not decentralised in a social sense: the vast majority of people exclusively use Bluesky’s infrastructure. This echoes what I wrote about Bluesky and decentralisation here last week. The concept of Relays remains a significant part of the discussion of whether or not Bluesky is decentralised. Because of the increased load on the Relay due to the amount of new people joining, Bluesky stopped taking in posts from the fediverse bridge for a few days this week, indicating the amount of power that Bluesky has over the network.
PDSls, the tool which allows you to inspect and see every PDS on the network, has gotten a variety of updates. You can now log in, and edit and delete posts from your own PDS. Edited posts mostly do not show up on Bluesky anymore, barring some exceptions. For other services such as Picosky or WhiteWind edits do show up.
More organisations are playing with the concept of letting people set their handle on their subdomain, with Newgrounds and Neocities, as well as itch.io already providing the option last week.
Bluesky Tools
AT Orbital Laser is a tool to instantly block and account, as well as all that account’s followers, similar to Blockenheimer.
Vanity.blue gives you a variety of free custom handles.
StarterPacks.net allows you to see and search through all Starter Packs.
BlueskyStarterPacks.com also allows you to see and search through all Starter Packs, and also shows traffic information on them.
DarkSky is a Windows client for Bluesky.
Skitter is a Bluesky client in the theme of the old Twitter web client.
Analyse your Bluesky statistics with SkyStats.
Beeskie is a another Windows app for Bluesky.
BlueHorizon gives you analytics of your account, as well as the ability to schedule posts.
Bluesky User Search allows you to search for accounts with some more accessible search filters.
Bluesky Follow Scanner analyses the accounts that follow you.
BlueskyMeter is another analytics tool.
Blucerne is an advanced search tool for Bluesky that is currently in development.
For Developers
SDK.Blue is ‘a list of all libraries/SDKs for building things on ATProto, grouped by language’.
Extending Also Known As.
Tandem is a tool to create a backup key for your PDS.
Tech Talk held a session with the creator of the Game Industry Labeler, recording here.
Browser.blue lists all Lexicon record types.
DASL (Data Addressed Structures and Links) is a new standard for data formatting that uses the same data structure as ATProto.
This Website is Hosted on Bluesky.
Using Bluesky posts as blog comments.
Hosting Bluesky with Coolify
A RFC on Lexicon Resolution.
Posting to Bluesky from a Microcontroller.
Adding Bluesky-powered comments to any website in five minutes
Self-hosting Bluesky PDS.
How to setup a Bluesky PDS Server on Digital Ocean cloud.
Next steps with Bluesky – hosting your own data and more on the API.
How to run your own Bluesky PDS Server.
bsky-bc, a music discovery contraption.
Hosting your PDS on increasingly esoteric hardware:
Updates
OpenVibe is an cross-platform app that supports Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads and Nostr. Their latest update supports for tagging users on multiple platforms.
Bluesky client TOKIMEKI adds direct support for Audio Spaces app Bluecast.
The SkyFollowerBridge is working on support for Threads.
Discord has been working on better integration with Bluesky. Discord now also allows you to link your Bluesky and Mastodon profiles.
Clearsky, the tool that allows you to see information such as blocks, as well as lists and starter packs you are on, is back online after it had been offline for a while due to increased network traffic.
Third-party Bluesky client Ouranos now shows your profile on other ATmosphere platforms as well, such as Frontpage, WhiteWind and Linkat.
Blacksky is expanding.
Blue Badge 0.2.0
An open firehose
ATProto allows everyone to tap into the ‘firehose’, the eventstream that broadcasts every single event on the network. This allows anyone to build tools and visualisations that utilise this data, ranging from serious and helpful to deeply silly. Last week I already covered a long list, and here are some more:
Show all links to Bandcamp.
Bluesky WebSocket Firehose – Simon Willison.
How to Extract Analytics from Bluesky, the New Open Social Network
Bluesky Mosaic shows an continually updating gallery of all images (note: NSFW images are not filtered out).
Bluesky hashtag Tracker keeps track of hashtags, but only as long as you got the website open.
SwearSky shows you all profanity on the network, and helpfully provides a voice-over for all curse words.
Misc
Social Media Manager Tools for Bluesky
An open source app we can all learn from
A very extensive Obsidian website with explainers on how Bluesky works.
Benefits of an open network – Bluesky employee Emily Liu.
BlueSheep is a simple game that uses your Bluesky profile to ‘deploy your own sheep’.
Bluesky has more than 21 million users. Where does it go from here? – Morning Brew
A Note About the Knight Institute, X, and Bluesky.
Open-source champion Kelsey Hightower on the promise of Bluesky.
That’s all for this week, thanks for reading! You can subscribe to my newsletter to receive the weekly updates directly in your inbox below, and follow this blog @fediversereport.com and my personal account @laurenshof.online.
https://fediversereport.com/last-week-in-the-atmosphere-the-links-2411-d/
latest update for #bluesky is legit:
- detaching quote posts
- disable quote posting per post
- hide replies for everyone
bluesky is moving fast, and in the current phase the space of decentralised social network is in this matters
https://bsky.social/about/blog/08-28-2024-anti-toxicity-features
Spent some time this morning getting a cursory understanding of #ATProtocol (the open protocol behind #BlueSky). I have a decent understanding of #ActivityPub and I expected AT to have a lot of similarities.
It’s quite different, and this diagram surprised me.
PDS here is “Personal Data Server”. You might think of it as something like a #Mastodon instance where all your data is stored and posts by those you follow are cached.
Except notice that there’s no arrows between PDSes.
1/5
Is BlueSky similar to the Fediverse? No.
The Fediverse is owned by the people and communities that use it. A basic server costs $5 a month all inclusive, anyone can make one. It's ad-free, made by volunteers, funded by donations, servers are independent.
BlueSky is a for-profit corporation funded by VC money. Its technical structure makes servers dependent on expensive corporate-run relays. BlueSky's business setup is eerily reminiscent of Ello: https://waxy.org/2024/01/the-quiet-death-of-ellos-big-dreams/
“our lead shares our philosophy that technology should serve the user, not the reverse
this is why they focus on blockchains, a technology basically always used at the expense of its users”
@bnrnieuwsradio nodigt @laurenshof uit in hun #podcast De Technoloog om te praten over de stand van zaken rondom X-alternatief @bsky.app
'Kan #Bluesky de schaal bereiken van grote sociale netwerken zoals #twitter? Hoe effectief zijn decentrale netwerken in het behouden van een gezonde en veilige community? Wat zijn de lange termijn businessmodellen voor platforms zoals Bluesky?'
https://www.bnr.nl/podcast/de-technoloog/10561900/de-toekomst-van-bluesky-en-de-fediverse
Decentralization and erasure: Blacksky, Bluesky, and the ATmosphere
https://privacy.thenexus.today/decentralization-and-erasure-blacksky-bluesky-and-the-atmosphere-2/
There's been a lot of discussion about whether or not Bluesky and the ATmosphere (the ecosystem using the AT protocol) are decentralized. Blacksky runs three feed generators, a moderation service, and a work-in-progress personal data store (PDS) as well as providing a starter pack. And the vision for Blacksky "extends beyond any single platform".
That sounds pretty decentralized to me!
But as far as I can tell, nobody else in the discussion is talking about Blacksky as an actually-existing example of decentralization. What's with that?
We're proud to support A New Social, a non-profit helmed by @quillmatiq and @snarfed.org. Learn more here about its mission to liberate people's networks from their platforms, and level the playing field across the open social web.
https://www.anew.social/hello-social-web/
#OpenSocialWeb #SocialNetworks #SocialWeb #Bluesky #BridgyFed #PeopleNotPlatforms
🚀 Mastogram Update! 🎉
Here’s what’s new in our latest release:
🔧 Improved overall stability
🐞 Fixed bugs with links posted on the fediverse
🤝 Mastogram now supports Misskey/Sharkey
🎥 Resolved video reposting issues from fediverse to Telegram
🔗 Made connecting your fediverse accounts to Mastogram easier
🛠️ Fixed tag ignoring for #notg and #nofw from Telegram
If you're looking for a modern bridge between your fediverse profiles, Telegram, and even Bluesky 🌌, sign up now 👉 https://mastogr.am
Encountering issues? Don’t hesitate to reach out at @mastogram or @henry ❤️
With #bluesky getting more popular, the section of Bluesky bots on Botwiki keeps growing.
https://botwiki.org/bot/?networks=bluesky
Are you making Bluesky bots? Do you have any helpful resources?
Be sure to share them!
I'm disabling Bridgy Fed on this account (at least for now) -- if you're at risk of harassment, consider doing the same
Harassment has increased significantly on Bluesky over the last week (which tends to be what happens when a site's moderators find an excuse not to take actionn against a coordinated anti-trans harassment campaign, but that's another story). Bluesky blocklists provide some protection, but unfortunately there's no way for fedi accounts to subscribe to Bluesky blocklists or labelers. So there's basially no protection for bridged accounts.
I haven't yet hard any reports of harassment getting directed at bridged accounts ... but then again if somebody on Bluesky who hasn't opted in to Bridgy fed is spewing hate speech in bridged posts replies, we wouldn't necessarily know about it. So, better safe than sorry.
If you're currently bridging to Bluesky consider doing the same! You can disable Bridgy Fed by blocking @bsky.brid.gy@bsky.brid.gy -- here's the FAQ https://fed.brid.gy/docs#opt-out
Here's the bug I just filed in the Bridgy Fed Github. https://github.com/snarfed/bridgy-fed/issues/1632
Bridgy Fed's development is very resource constrained right now; as far as I know it's still just @snarfed.org working on it part-time, and they've had their hands full just keeping up with the increased load. So, not sure how quickly they''ll be able to respond.
EDIT updated with the FAQ on how to opt-out, as well as the correct instructions.
Is Bluesky 'obeying in advance'?
The #Bluesky Jesse Singal controversy took an interesting turn this weekend. Two articles one in Advocate (https://www.advocate.com/business/bluesky-jesse-singal) and another in TechCrunch (https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/13/bluesky-is-at-a-crossroads-as-users-petition-to-ban-jesse-singal-over-anti-trans-views-harassment/) suggest the refusal to ban the anti-trans podcaster may be due to fear of regulatory action.
"...this decision could put the social media company at risk with the FCC since Brendan Carr, Trump’s pick... plans to go after tech companies he thinks are censoring right-wing voices." 👀
The fediverse has no central authority — which brings both challenges and opportunities for how it's governed. For Dot Social, @mike spoke with @kissane and @darius, two of the smartest people working on this, about the impact of the 2024 U.S. Presidential election on fediverse work, the "Xodus," what needs to be done next, and how to fund and sustain better networks for humans.
Read more about it in this blogpost.
https://about.flipboard.com/fediverse/erin-kissane-and-darius-kazemi/
Listen to the conversation on https://flipboard.video/c/dot_social/videos or wherever you get your podcasts.
#DotSocial #Podcast #Fediverse #Flipboard #OpenSocialWeb #SocialMedia #Tech #SocialWeb #Governance #Federation #Bluesky #ActivityPub #ATProtocol #SocialNetworks
Some #Bridgy stats: there were 2016 unique Mastodon/Fedi accounts that have had their posts bridged to #Bluesky last week (1-7.07), with a total of around 50k posts 🦣🦋
(This excludes the 100+ double-bridged #Nostr accounts, which produced another ~6k posts)
was just reading the new #bluesky doc on labelling - a system for adding own content moderation: it marks content to be hidden, blurred, taken down, or annotated in applications. Labels apply to accounts or posts. Crucially, labellers can be subscribed to, serving communities, not just individuals.
It seems like that will create many interesting issues: imagine, e.g., a shared labeller „NoMinorityX“ to hide all content by a particular group. Legal/illegal where, for whom, and when?
I have nothing against #Bluesky per se and am glad some folks are finding it useful as a drop-in replacement for the site that would like to use a swastika as its logo but settled on "X" for now.
But if we want to face the challenges ahead (climate change, fascism, and the daily weaponization of hate and fear), we need to imagine and try out new ways of doing things, not just replicate old ones.
The fediverse gives us a unique opportunity to do that. Bluesky doesn't.
A post to traverse the Fediverse & beyond 
Third time's a charm: This post can be seen with #Mastodon, #Bluesky, #Sharkey, #Mbin, #Lemmy, #Friendica, #Hubzilla, #Hometown, #Akkoma & more.
Please share it wherever you see it in the #Fediverse
@fediverse
Obviously due to the distributed nature of the Fediverse it's never going to be possible to tell how many UK users have joined Mastodon/Firefish/Fedi in the last week or so.
But I'd be curious to know if anecdotally anyone thinks there have been an uptick in new UK accounts here.
🚀 The Future is Federated - issue no.8 👩🚀
The Future of Social is Here: a Show and Tell (part 3: #Friendica)
https://blog.elenarossini.com/the-future-of-social-is-here-a-show-and-tell-part-3-friendica/
with shout-outs to @anubis2814 @dansup @fedidb @heidilifeldman @tchambers @kamalaharrisforpresidentnews @ryanbroderick @caseynewton @ferrante @informapirata @russandro @hankg @tio
#TheFutureIsFederated #tech #Fediverse #activism #bigtech #socialmedia #FOSS #blog #activitypub #diaspora #bluesky #tumblr
