this post was submitted on 22 Nov 2024
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This is a pretty great, long form post about the structure of Bluesky, and how it's largely kinda pretending to be decentralized at the moment. I'm not trying to make a dig at it. I've enjoyed the platform myself for a while, but it's good to learn more about how it actually works.

This article was shared on Mastodon via its author here.

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[–] zingo@sh.itjust.works 6 points 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm staying on Lemmy and off Bluesky.

I seek and spread knowledge from/to helpful lemmings and not interested in another Twitter wannabe gossip app, hopping on the "decentralized" train to grain traction.

[–] jaxiiruff@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

This gossip app is meant for artists and other internet celebrities that think they are cool making their opinions to be fact. Extreme left is insufferable right now as a moderate. They have tripled down in all the worst ways which makes it annoying and frustrating to ignore.

I always liked reddit better since people actually discussed real things. Since I jumped ship to lemmy I feel even less inclined to bother with anything else. However reddit was way better for certain stuff like artists or creators.

[–] sentient_loom@sh.itjust.works 13 points 5 hours ago

I'm probably not going to read the article. But there's currently just one bluesky instance, so it's 100% centralized, not decentralized at all.

Jack was talking about the "protocol" at one point... I don't think that matters at all right now. It's just another social media site!

[–] gedaliyah@lemmy.world 55 points 7 hours ago (1 children)
[–] Telorand@reddthat.com 13 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

I'm not even sure it can, unless they want to pay server operators. Who would do that for free for a for-profit company? And if they're ultimately supported by the top, they're still centralized.

Not that it's super expensive to run a server, but it ain't free; at least in a place like the Fediverse, every transaction is voluntary all the way down to the financial support, because any part may choose to participate or leave as they see fit.

I don't see how BlueSky can replicate that and still chase profit.

[–] shortwavesurfer@lemmy.zip 7 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

I thought I read something that said one of the servers or services or something was already like 4.8 terabytes and growing by the day.

but even if you wanted to run that, you cant because they wont release the software or interact with foreign relays.

they dont even let you choose to grab the 4.8tb which is <10% of my home storage

[–] Patch@feddit.uk 12 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

That's a really interesting read (and worth much more attention than the pithy one-liners of people who just want to read the title).

On reflection, I think my take away is that Bluesky will always by necessity of its design be hosted and controlled by a single centralised company. But what their architectural model does allow is the possibility of a wholesale migration from one centralised provider to another. That is, it would be possible for a suitably resourced and motivated company to host its own mirror Relay and other components and have essentially a fully functional Bluesky clone. In the event that Bluesky ever "does a Twitter" and go into terminal decline, in theory this might mean that a successor/competitor could emerge and take on the network without loss of existing content.

I'm not sure that'll ever actually happen, but it's an interesting thought.

[–] BearOfaTime@lemm.ee 3 points 5 hours ago

Interesting point, and shows that most likely, any instance of Bkuesky will eventually go Twitter

[–] asudox@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 6 hours ago

No decentralization atm.

[–] Random123@fedia.io 6 points 6 hours ago

Im more interested hows the privacy policy? Im too lazy to read it atm

[–] j4p@lemm.ee 3 points 5 hours ago

More than Twitter. Less than Mastodon. ¯_(ツ)_/¯

[–] solrize@lemmy.world -5 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (5 children)

People have been saying bsky is even worse than Twitter in terms of user bullying. Sort of the opposite way though. Instead of rampant toxicity you get beaten down for anything that bothers anyone. And that basically means everything. So, I'm just staying away.

[–] SaltySalamander@fedia.io 8 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

"People have been saying"

I love that absolutely meaningless statement.

[–] solrize@lemmy.world -2 points 4 hours ago

I'm going by a post on another forum by a regular there who has experienced this and says his colleagues have too. That's good enough for me. I'm not really interested in bsky anyway.

Is it totally authoritative? Probably not, but it's as good as when a Lemmy poster identifies problems with some particular model of cell phone so I decide not to buy it. We all take info like that on board all the time.

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 2 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

People have been saying

Ok, Trump. Thanks for the story.

[–] lennivelkant@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 2 hours ago

But the best people - all the best people - and these really are good people, you know? They're good, the best, just wonderful people, and they say - I didn't ask, they told me!

[–] Nima@leminal.space 10 points 6 hours ago

if there is, I haven't seen any. ive been using it quite a bit. its probably like most social media where if you don't engage with that kind of content, it doesn't show it to you.

[–] flying_gel@lemmy.world 8 points 6 hours ago* (last edited 6 hours ago) (2 children)

I tried to look this up but I couldn't find much. The "worst" I found was this:

Some users have expressed concerns about the platform's moderation practices, suggesting that the community's emphasis on inclusivity and respect may lead to over-sensitivity, where even minor disagreements or differing opinions are met with significant backlash. This environment can create a perception of excessive policing of content, potentially discouraging open dialogue.

Where are you reading that people are saying that it's worse than twitter? Is it right wing people that are saying that because they put emphasis on inclusivity and respect?

[–] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 10 points 5 hours ago

That’s exactly what it is. The trolls and bot runners and MAGA chuds are pissed that we can completely prevent them from interacting with us there. And with curated blocklists it doesn’t even require work for the average user.

They can come to bsky but they’ll just be screaming at each other while the rest of us talk about cool stuff.

[–] solrize@lemmy.world -1 points 3 hours ago

The person I'm thinking of is left wing, I would say. He got labeled as a science denier after some very technical post about the covid virus. Regardless of the merit of the viewpoint, the existence of such a labelling feature is a huge turn-off to me.

[–] DomeGuy@lemmy.world 6 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Thats not really what happens, unless you're so toxic that old-twitter would actually ban you.

Bsky has a "nuclear block", that essentially removes you and the target from even existing on the version of the site each other see. If you're ok with just talking to folk who are on your side of a "no, shutup" line, like "trans women are women" or "trans is a mental disorder" you'll be fine.

The issue is that a bunch of folk who abscribe to the second apparently just want to troll the first, so they get blocked by their targets, have no fun, and then complain to reporters still on twitter.

[–] solrize@lemmy.world 0 points 5 hours ago

They apparently have a feature to label other users as anti science or whatever. Actual scientists have gotten that label, oops.