Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://blue.mackuba.eu/directory/pdses As you can see here, virtually every third party Bluesky PDS either has one user or a small handful of users (invite only, so like someone and their colleagues or a few friends).

It wasn't Twitter's new owner who put that in place. It was the previous management.

Here's a flaw with Bluesky you might not have thought of.

Bluesky's primary approach to moderation is to permanently ban people. However, this is antiquated approach from decades ago, and even Big Tech firms have been moving away from it for years.

For instance, if someone can persuade someone to stop something, this is almost always better than banning people.

Facebook and Twitter might take down a post and inform a user it's a violation of their policies. They might use time limited sanctions. This isn't limited to these two companies. Warnings have also become more prominent, although these are over-used in a manner that becomes noisy.

The way Bluesky's architecture is described creates the impression that there might be multiple "apps", but this is false, there only appears to be one Bluesky "app".

"Relays are an optimization and are not strictly necessary. An AppView could communicate directly with PDSes (in fact, this is encouraged if needed). The Relay serves to reduce the number of connections that are needed in the network."

https://atproto.com/guides/glossary#pds-personal-data-server
"A PDS, or Personal Data Server, is a server that hosts a user. A PDS will always store the user's data repo and signing keys. It may also assign the user a handle and a DID. Many PDSes will host multiple users.

A PDS communicates with AppViews to run applications. A PDS doesn't typically run any applications itself, though it will have general account management interfaces such as the OAuth login screen. PDSes actively sync their data repos with Relays."

https://docs.bsky.app/docs/advanced-guides/moderation
According to Bluesky's own documentation, network wide takedowns are carried out by the firm.

Bluesky PDS' appear to be intended for invite only nodes for a handful of people at most. There are few compared to the overall scale of the social network.

There is an "app" which consumes data from these however this is exclusively run by Bluesky. Moderation seems to happen here.

A PDS does not have a standalone website and is practically useless unless accessed via the "app".

Looking at Bluesky's architecture, there are some serious privacy issues.

Well, like Veilid, we'll see how Free our Feeds ends up going.

Also, what if we need a third relay in the future? Or a fourth relay? Would that be feasible?

The fact that no one has been able to build a second relay so far though, and that it is taking this big highly funded effort, is kind of telling.

https://freeourfeeds.com/
"Build independent infrastructure, such as a second “relay,” guaranteeing Bluesky users and developers have uninterrupted access to data streams, regardless of corporate decisions.

Fund developers to create a vibrant ecosystem of social applications built on open protocols, fostering healthier and more equitable online spaces.

The developers’ fund will re-grant to the community of innovators who can build the solutions we need to improve our social web (from content moderation services for under resourced languages to recommender systems that are optimized for what people actually want to see, and new apps and experiences that we can’t yet imagine)."
While the foundation is raising $30 million, it's unclear how much of that is going towards the second relay.

https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/13/24342799/free-our-feeds-social-media-ecosystem-at-protocol-bluesky
"Technology advocates and celebrities are backing the launch of Free Our Feeds, a campaign designed to “save social media from billionaire capture.” The project aims to raise $30 million over three years to support the development of a social media ecosystem powered by the AT Protocol, or the decentralized network powering Bluesky."

"They also go beyond that. In defining human beings to include all embryos, from the moment of conception, they would have implications for in vitro fertilization, which often involves the creation of embryos that are frozen for later use and sometimes, eventually, destroyed."

https://reason.com/2025/01/29/4-states-consider-bills-to-treat-women-who-get-abortions-as-murderers/ This is a thing now.

https://www.techdirt.com/2025/01/24/brendan-carr-trumps-free-speech-warrior-wastes-no-time-violating-trumps-new-free-speech-executive-order/ This is concerning from a free speech perspective.

Someone who uncritically promotes the fediverse and the "run your own server" thing also ignore the emotional burden.

Someone might have to negotiate with hundreds, if not, thousands of other servers, and engage in otherwise avoidable admin / fedi drama.

When someone proposed a small scale governance initiative, one which went nowhere, someone might fling accusations of trying to rule the fediverse and fire off instance blocks. Someone might also lift quotes out of context.

Inter-instance censorship is promoted as a silver bullet for personal pet issues and is used liberally generally.

Inter-instance censorship has even been applied in a case where someone didn't want to moderate content in a particular language on their own server as they did not have the moderative capacity to. Others blocked them citing "colonialism". And simultaneously, they are held to unrealistic expectations for moderation.

Like "colonialism", there are various unspoken rules which crop up at seemingly random times to blow up into bubbles of drama.

Looks like there will be more Black Butler this year. That's cool.

Diabolik Lovers is an interesting anime (although, it might not be for you).

Female protagonist. Reverse harem of sorts. Vampires. Vampire manor.

#anime