This is astonishing! It’s not like we could reasonably execute a global lockdown to kill a particularly terrible virus again in the future, but what a superpower we demonstrated! I’m sure there’s times to learn here.
byjp.me
I think it’s a pointer to the challenges of moderation on ActivityPub platforms; where all the work is for admins to do, and *can’t* (currently) be shared with “users” (like it can on Bluesky with Lists being used as mute lists or blocklists, and community run labellers). They’re different methods with their own strengths and weaknesses, but I’m a fan of the “large, professional moderation + community run tooling” of Bluesky over “in-instance possibly paid moderation work + instance defederation” ActivityPub has, as it stands at the moment. It seems like *a lot* of work for large Fediverse instance admins right now (it’s why I pay my admin team!) I’m glad your instance has been less work though!
I’m hoping for the same, but… where does the “value from the tech” come from? There’s plenty of innovative work the team are doing (technically speaking, and implementation/execution-wise) but the value _only_ they offer in the long run (given sites like this one, built on ATProto 💙) seems to be the Relays (they *require* scale to work well) and high scale hosting (Bluesky’s stated subscription service plan of higher quality videos etc). Storing data is a tough sell, as there’s only so much we all need for an “in the moment” platform. Controlling the information flow (ie. The Relay)? I can see *lots* of value for a company there, but in controlling it and/or marketing to people using it (the usual, old school, tech tactics). This is what worries me! I hope there’s something I’ve missed, or something we can *make* value from for them that’s aligned with openness!
I’m a little worried about this; I don’t see how Bluesky can earn enough money with the platform to give investors back the ~10x return on that investment I’m sure they’re hoping for.