Delusions of a Protocol
18 hours ago
- #Decentralization
- #Moderation
- #Bluesky
- Bluesky CEO Jay Graber has faced criticism for inconsistent moderation, including allowing Jesse Singal to remain on the platform despite abuses.
- Bluesky's moderation has been criticized for banning accounts for trivial reasons, such as Gretchen Falker-Martin for reacting with 'lol' to news about Charlie Kirk.
- New vague terms of service on Bluesky seem to restrict non-con/dub-con erotica and discussions about rape in non-erotic contexts.
- Jay Graber is accused of transphobia, with actions perceived as courting controversial figures like Jesse Singal.
- Bluesky's ideology revolves around being 'stewards of the AT Protocol', promoting decentralization, but the reality is centralized control.
- AT Protocol differs from Mastodon's ActivityPub, with a complex architecture involving PDS, relays, and firehoses, making decentralization difficult.
- Currently, there's no viable alternative to Bluesky's relay, firehose, or app view, tying users to Bluesky's moderation services.
- Running an alternative to Bluesky requires significant resources, unlike Mastodon, which hobbyists can easily set up.
- Bluesky's decentralization claims are seen as ideological vaporware, with the platform effectively operating as a centralized social network.
- Bluesky retains power to suppress speech and ban content while deflecting criticism onto third-party labelers.
- The platform's model leads to ineffective enforcement of user safety tools, making it harder to deal with harassers.