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Finally, a good overview of how Bluesky's moderation works. Or *should* work.
"I was surprised to discover recently that our account suspension system has been operating entirely at the PDS level."
I think a lot about how we get more people like me (Gen Z, female, queer, into sports) on the Social Web.
One of the things I have realised is that the perception of the Social Web to someone like me isn't all that positive. It doesn't have a good 'vibe'.
In this blog post, I've explored the initial vibe of the Social Web to someone like me. I'd love if you checked it out.
https://forbetter.ghost.io/whats-the-vibe-of-the-social-web/
Bridgy FedはBlueSkyにいる人からのリプライもちゃんとブリッジしてくれるのか。でも、リプライした人がブリッジしていなければプライベートメッセージとしてブリッジするということか
#BlueSky にいる人は、Bridgy Fed https://fed.brid.gy/ でブリッジしてよ
The "timeline" interface on #bluesky and/or #mastodon is not particularly useful if you follow many infrequently posting accounts (the so called long-tail where the real beauty of online networks resides).
A simple way to solve this (partially - it is read only) is to convert your follow lists into #opml and then import into your favorite #rss reader. You then have visual guides on recent posts.
A couple of simply #python scripts automate this work for you
ブルスカ秋のBANまつり、と聞いて（事情はよく知らない
Hi #Bluesky! If you're unhappy with Bluesky, you should know there's also an open social web! Have a look at https://fedi.tips/who-owns-the-fediverse-is-the-fediverse-owned-by-a-corporation-or-venture-capital-firm-can-it-be-bought-out-by-google-facebook-elon-musk/
Who owns the Fediverse? Is the Fediverse owned by a corporation or venture capital firm? Can it be bought out by Google/Facebook/Elon Musk? | Fedi.Tips – An Unofficial Guide to Mastodon and the Fediverse
An unofficial guide to using Mastodon and the Fediverse
fedi.tips
Link author: 
Fedi.Tips@FediTips@social.growyourown.services
@To be clear: the active user base of Hubzilla probably numbers less than 1000, and those of (streams) and Forte far far smaller than that; so in your plots, their exclusion/inclusion is not going to be visually discernible to anyone. At present, it will not affect any inferences one may draw from your plots.
But for the sake of completeness, you may want to consider these questions.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
Also: if FEP-ef61
https://codeberg.org/fediverse/fep/src/branch/main/fep/ef61/fep-ef61.md
becomes widely adopted in future, then other ActivityPub-based software may incorporate nomadic identity, and you may have to worry about all of the above at that point.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
Forte certainly qualifies as part of the Fediverse, by any criteria. So you will definitely have to worry about counting each channel of any account on a Forte instance, and about not counting clones of that channel.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
To be clear: the active user base of Hubzilla probably numbers less than 1000, and those of (streams) and Forte far far smaller than that; so in your plots, their exclusion/inclusion is not going to be visually discernible to anyone. At present, it will not affect any inferences one may draw from your plots.
But for the sake of completeness, you may want to consider these questions.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
The author of Hubzilla and (streams) also developed the ActivityPub-based Forte, which has nomadic identity, with all of the properties described above.
https://codeberg.org/fortified/forte/
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
Forte certainly qualifies as part of the Fediverse, by any criteria. So you will definitely have to worry about counting each channel of any account on a Forte instance, and about not counting clones of that channel.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
So if you are including Hubzilla and (streams) users, you will have to worry about counting each channel for an account, but not counting any of the clones of a given channel. Are you doing that?
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
The author of Hubzilla and (streams) also developed the ActivityPub-based Forte, which has nomadic identity, with all of the properties described above.
https://codeberg.org/fortified/forte/
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
This also raises another question. Hubzilla and (streams) both have nomadic identity, so a user can have multiple clones of a channel across different instances, and activity on any one of those gets mirrored across all the clones. And an account on an instance can have multiple channels—a channel is what participates in the Fediverse.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
So if you are including Hubzilla and (streams) users, you will have to worry about counting each channel for an account, but not counting any of the clones of a given channel. Are you doing that?
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
Are you counting the user base from instances which run software such as Hubzilla or (streams)—specifically, software that is NOT based on ActivityPub—but which federate with all the instances running ActivityPub-based software such as Mastodon?
If yes/no, why?
For context, the present mandarins of the ActivityPub world do not count Hubzilla or (streams) as parts of the Fediverse.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
This also raises another question. Hubzilla and (streams) both have nomadic identity, so a user can have multiple clones of a channel across different instances, and activity on any one of those gets mirrored across all the clones. And an account on an instance can have multiple channels—a channel is what participates in the Fediverse.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
You mention elsewhere that for your plots quantifying Fediverse decentralization, you (want to) count only those Threads users that federate with other instances running ActivityPub-based software. In contrast, Eugen Rochko seems to count any instance running software that natively speaks ActivityPub as part of the Fediverse.
Hence my curiosity questions below about some other software.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
Are you counting the user base from instances which run software such as Hubzilla or (streams)—specifically, software that is NOT based on ActivityPub—but which federate with all the instances running ActivityPub-based software such as Mastodon?
If yes/no, why?
For context, the present mandarins of the ActivityPub world do not count Hubzilla or (streams) as parts of the Fediverse.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
You mention elsewhere that for your plots quantifying Fediverse decentralization, you (want to) count only those Threads users that federate with other instances running ActivityPub-based software. In contrast, Eugen Rochko seems to count any instance running software that natively speaks ActivityPub as part of the Fediverse.
Hence my curiosity questions below about some other software.
#ActivityPub #ATProto #Fediverse #Bluesky #Threads #Hubzilla #(streams) #Forte
(continues)
"#Bluesky's #ToS contain a "binding arbitration" waiver that forces users to surrender the right to sue Bluesky no matter how the company harms them. This is so pro-enshittificatory, it's like a landing strip for the sole use of Enshittification Airlines, which can land a 747 full of enshittfying nonsense on Bluesky's users every 10 minutes, around the clock, without worrying about any legal repercussions."
#photography #summer #kyoto #bluesky #landscape #river #scenery #photos
Summer scenes along Kamo River and Shijo Bridge, Kyoto⛅
#photography #summer #kyoto #bluesky #landscape #river #scenery #photo
I haven't sensed more anger from fedi towards #bluesky recently. It has always been this way and it's justified imo.
So the renewed effort to get us to STFU makes me think bluesky is about to announce something bad for the decentralized social media community (maybe their business model?) and they want big names on record as opposing criticism so they won't say anything when the moment comes that they really should.
As expected, successfully saw so many #happy doggies of all shapes and sizes at Renegade Craft Fair #Chicago in Wicker Park today. 🐶 Here are two out of many. (Afterwards, saw the one on the left (which was HUGE) shake/fling his/her drool onto everyone nearby 😆)
#Dog #Dogs #DogsOfMastodon #Happiness #Joy #Cute #Pet #Pets #Animal #Animals #Outdoors #BlueSky #Summer #Street #StreetPhotography #Photos #Photography #MobilePhotography
I certainly have my own opinions and feelings about the whole "fediverse vs Bluesky" thing, but this joint statement is a good reminder that fighting on the internet is never a good look.
"We do not win by tearing each other down, which only emboldens and empowers those who do not want either protocol to succeed."
If you've used #Bluesky for a bit, but left it - what didn't you like, what made you leave and what do you like more here?
Would it be possible to build something that looked like #ATproto to #bluesky but also like #ActivityPub? I think there's something to learn from podcatchers also. We need something like a VC model for nonprofit reference projects.
https://tangled.sh/@dwn.dwnfonts.cc/atpasser
ATPasser, yet another Python #ATProto library that I made, I think that this can be an more general option instead of using #Bluesky -specific tools
Listening to this interview of Rudy from #blacksky, I get the impression that there is no simplifying decentralization. You can either do it on the frontend like #mastodon does, or ask/expect people to decentralize later like #bluesky does. Either way, you will need to explain why it matters and help them make it happen.
[I'm unconvinced by arguments beyond #DemocracyOfReach so far. We don't need "decentralized social media" for community. Start a subreddit/discord.]
I know a lot of you still think of the #Fediverse as just “Mastodon”.
But it’s far more than that. There’s an entire ecosystem of federated message boards that’s already proven popular: #Piefed, #NodeBB, #Lemmy, #Mbin, and #Discourse.
Even the classics like #Friendica and #Hubzilla have solid forum features baked in.
If you’re only here for the microblogging, you’re missing a key piece. Communities built around interests are something #Twitter never offered, and #Bluesky still doesn’t.
So if you’re looking to replace your #Facebook Groups, the Fediverse already has you covered.
If I had the money, I'd match every VC investment in #bluesky with one to #mastodon. Make it a fair fight.
And I'd probably also pay some people to clone bluesky but run it on #ActivityPub and call it Twitter since he says that's not the name anymore.
Mastodon says it doesn’t ‘have the means’ to comply with age verification laws: https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/29/mastodon-says-it-doesnt-have-the-means-to-comply-with-age-verification-laws/
Mastodon says it doesn't 'have the means' to comply with age verification laws | TechCrunch
Decentralized social network Mastodon says it cannot comply with age verification laws, like in Mississippi and elsewhere, and says it's up to individual server owners to decide.
techcrunch.com · TechCrunch
Link author: 
Sarah Perez 💙@Sarahp@mastodon.social
Mississippi, Bluesky, Blacksky, the ATmosphere, Mastodon, and the Fediverse
New on The Nexus of Privacy!
As well as a summary of the situation (both in the ATmosphere and the Fediverse) and links to a bunch of interesting discussions, there's also a discussion of just why age verification laws are so bad.
@
#Bluesky users in Wyoming and South Dakota be aware you might be at risk of being cut off. Last week Bluesky blocked users from Mississippi in response to similar age verification laws.
Perhaps consider creating an account on the Fediverse: https://joinmastodon.org/
What would happen to the ATmosphere if Bluesky disappeared?
There have been several interesting discussions about what would happen if Bluesky PBC disappeared -- this thread from 
@phildini, for example, with great perspectives from 
@tedTed Han ★ 韓聖安 and 
@glyph.
Right now, 99.99% of the ATmosphere is on Blueksy PBC-hosted infrastructure, so there would obviously be a huge short-term hit. My take, though, is while things would be very chaotic for a while, there are enoguh independent infrastructure projects in the works that the network be able to start recovering relatively quickly. Blacksky and Spark are two of the independent projects that are farthest along, and I know a lot more about Blacksky than I do about Spark, so that's what I'll focus on. (You can find out more about Blacksky in Rudiy Fraser's Rudy Fraser's recent 🔭🖤🚀 Social media’s next evolution: decentralized, open-source, and scalable, and there are a lot more links here )
Blacksky currently still has some dependencies on Bluesky's infrastructure; in the thread I linked to above, for example, Ted Han discusses the role of the PLC directory. My guess though is they could come up with workarounds fairly quickly if they have to -- and Blacksky's rsky-relay already uses its own mirror of the PLC directory, so it's not like they'd be starting from scratch. And there's did:web implementation, which doesn't depend on the PLC directory; this might or might not make sense for Blacksky, but other projects might well make more use of it.
Blacksky currently only hosts around a thousand people on its own infrastructure, so there are likely to be growing pains. But the underlying AT Protocol architecturei is highly scalable, and Blacksky's been designed with a goal of supporting a few million people. That by itself is a lot smaller than Bluesky, but then again Blacksky's only one of many independent infrastructure providers, so they don't have to take the whle load.
While anybody who hadn't backed up their data from Bluesky's servers before they vaporized might lose a lot of their posting history and collections, a suprising amount could potentially be recovered from services like microcosm and zeppelin as well as relays like atproto.africa (which keeps the last three days of posts)
Bluesky PBC's platform-level moderation plays a key role in spam and malware filtering, CSAM scanning, and other stuff. Behind the scenes, though, they also outsource all their automated scanning to Hive, so independent implementations could do the same -- or find another solution.
Other projects aren't as far along with a complete parallel infrastructure stack as Blacksky, but in a crisis situation they could probably cobble somethiung together fairly quickly – either deploying stuff at an earlier stage they had planned(Gander, for example, might well get their elbows up and launch a few months ahead of schedule) or by using Blacksky's implementations.
All that being said, the devil is in the details, and there certainly are a lot of details to be worked out.
Then again I've been consistently impressed with the collaborative problem-solving approach of the AT Protocol developer community, and they'd certainly take this as a challenge to address.
What are subjects related to the #Fediverse, #Bluesky, and the entire open social web that are at the top of your mind now, in late summer 2025?
How could we get them best covered at FediForum in October?
Trying to do a bit of a research into the total cost of running your own ATProto architecture (not planning to do that, just curious), and came across this Bluesky network map. Interesting.
@stefanStefan Bohacek you know how when you purchase a new VPS you can sometimes pick between a Linux distro OR pre-installed apps? Well, #Hostinger has #Bluesky in the app section. I did not pursue it but found it interesting...
Trying to do a bit of a research into the total cost of running your own ATProto architecture (not planning to do that, just curious), and came across this Bluesky network map. Interesting.
#fedibird #BridgyFed #Bluesky #Fediverse
🔗しずかなインターネット
BlueskyとMisskey・mastodonをつなぐ、BridgyFedのススメ｜まくら - https://sizu.me/mkr/posts/s4wffok4zuvn
「聞いたことない単語でゴチャゴチャ言われてもわからん」勢(わたし)用に作った、最小限のBridgyFedの記事です。
ほんとに最小限なので足りないとこいっぱいですが、認知が広がればいいな。
Yess! 🙏 This should hopefully made bridging threads with back-and-forth replies between B/M accounts more reliable 🎉
meta
There's a whole thread happening over at Eugen's place re: what even is decentralization maaaan
So the thing is, in practice, AP isn't actually decentralized. What it's done is replace one center with many that are even less scrutable. This is not in any way an improvement.
I used to be a big fan of AP
Not being able to see art anymore on tech dot LGBT due to The Art Instance™️ being run by a tyrant was the first big crack in my liking the AP fediverse. It revealed how centralized it really is. Meanwhile Bluesky builds AT and all the tooling to moot the company and its potential power.
AT still has potential. AP is hard locked to a certain course unless some massive disruption happens internally. Its potential, timeline-wise, was where AT is now, not almost 10 years in. I don't see it happening in a world where it peaked at ~3m and doesn't seem to grow any. The million active users it has are the million it will have for the foreseeable future.
I know people are arguing in the comments of this post, but —
Can we notice that — there is a conversation happening across the Fediverse, ATmosphere, Mastodon, and Bluesky.
And, consider that some level of success for the broader Social Web 🙂
RE: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:z72i7hdynmk6r22z27h6tvur/post/3lwzadikbrc2u
#ATmosphere #bluesky #BridgyFed #bsky #Fediverse #Mastodon #SocialWeb
I guess that settles the "is BlueSky decentralized" debate?
https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3lwzadikbrc2u
@rysiekMichał "rysiek" Woźniak · 🇺🇦 #BlueSky isn't decentralized, in the same sense mastodon.social isn't decentralized. It's just one service on the #ATprotocol, just like mastodon.social is just one service on the #ActivityPub protocol.
I'm a bit confused about some of the discourse around Bluesky having to comply with Mississippi laws.
Does it really matter to what degree they're "truly" decentralized?
Forums and fediverse servers have shut down/geo-blocked people in UK in response to UK's Online Safety Act.
https://onlinesafetyact.co.uk/in_memoriam/
I figured it's mostly fediverse servers being too small that helps them avoid having to comply. Anyone talking about how this affects mastodon.social?
#AgeVerification #Mississippi #MississippiAgeVerification #bluesky #fediverse
ミシシッピ州が親の同意がない18歳未満に対してソーシャルメディアのアカウント作成を制限するという法律の施行を（一時的に？）認めたことを受けて #Bluesky がミシシッピ州からのアクセスをブロックしたって話にたいして、#Fediverse 界隈で「そういうブロックができちゃう事自体、Bluesky が実質的には中央集権的で分散化してない証拠じゃん」みたいなツッコミが入っているというところまで理解した。 
違反すると1ユーザーあたり $10,000 の罰金らしくてどこまで小さいサービスに適応されるかは不透明だけど、 #Bluesky と同じように念の為ミシシッピ州からのアクセスをブロックするとアナウンスしてる #Fediverse 
⁂ サーバー管理者の投稿も見かけた
#Bluesky is no longer available to Mississippi residents.
#Mississippi’s HB 1126 requires platforms to introduce age verification for all users and get parental consent for anyone under 18. Penalties for noncompliance are up to $10,000 per user.
Sites have to collect and store sensitive information from all its users, in addition to the detailed tracking of minors. This is too much of a burden.
It is uncertain if the law applies to small self-hosted sites. The law only says it pertains to platforms that provide social interaction services.
Because of this, hear-me.social, feddit.online, and my-place.social will no longer permit registration or logins from IP addresses coming from Mississippi. Feddit.online already restricts traffic from both the UK and France due to similar laws that I cannot comply with, as NSFW communities can be accessed.
https://techcrunch.com/2025/08/22/bluesky-blocks-service-in-mississippi-over-age-assurance-law/
Bluesky blocks service in Mississippi over age assurance law | TechCrunch
In a blog post published on Friday, the company explains that, as a small team, it doesn't have the resources to make the substantial technical changes this type of law would require, and it raised concerns about the law's broad scope and privacy implications.
techcrunch.com · TechCrunch
Link author: Sarah Perez 💙@Sarahp@mastodon.social
The way #Bluesky is reacting to Mississippi’s age law proves everything I said about BlueSky (i.e. it’s not decentralized at all), but large services or platforms pulling out of states that pass overreaching, intrusive age verification laws is the right move.
ミシシッピ州が親の同意がない18歳未満に対してソーシャルメディアのアカウント作成を制限するという法律の施行を（一時的に？）認めたことを受けて #Bluesky がミシシッピ州からのアクセスをブロックしたって話にたいして、#Fediverse 界隈で「そういうブロックができちゃう事自体、Bluesky が実質的には中央集権的で分散化してない証拠じゃん」みたいなツッコミが入っているというところまで理解した。
I guess that settles the "is BlueSky decentralized" debate?
https://bsky.app/profile/bsky.app/post/3lwzadikbrc2u
So, again today we get another crystal clear example of how #Bluesky is not decentralized. The company just blocked all users from an entire US state and those users are completely cut off. No other way to interact with the Bluesky network.
BECAUSE BLUESKY IS A CENTRALIZED PLATFORM.
Folks on Bluesky. There is a decentralized alternative. Just create an account on any decentralized Mastodon server. You will love it here. Promise.
