Chad Loder

Some early observations about Bluesky:

• People are having fun. People clearly missed using Twitter to shitpost.
• There are no norms yet. Nobody uses content warnings, nor is there a built-in feature for content warnings.
• Nobody uses alt text. Nobody gets scolded for not using alt text. Right now, Bluesky seems like a nightmare for blind and low-vision people.
• It's eery to see known abusers on Bluesky who I've had blocked for years, without the ability to block them.
• It's only a matter of days before violent right-wing accounts like A*dy Ng* show up on Bluesky. They WILL be allowed on, and they WILL build large followings, and the content moderation and privacy tools of Bluesky are not yet up to the task.

May 2, 2023 at 3:52pmWeb
Show threadDrew MochakMay 2, 2023
@chadloder Have yet to see a single blind person there. Interesting given how certain other minority communities are awash in invites.
Show threadChangelingMay 2, 2023
@objectinspace @chadloder Not surprised. We’re the last group people think of in these matters.
Show threadNatanael ⚠️May 2, 2023
@changeling @objectinspace @chadloder edit: running low on invites, so pausing this for now.
----
if you guys want invites so you can provide feedback then I have a few available. (This is for people who can give feedback om accessibility)
Show threadDrew MochakMay 2, 2023
@Natanael_L @changeling @chadloder I might just to play around with it, TBH I am pretty happy on Mastodon though. Also I have vanishly little free time as it is :(
Show threadBernie TuppMay 2, 2023
@Natanael_L @changeling @objectinspace @chadloder if the offer is still good I would take you up on it. Thanks!
Show threadelleMay 2, 2023
@Natanael_L @changeling @objectinspace @chadloder I'm happy on mastodon and am here for good, but I would be glad to have an account there to help promote inclusivity. If you have any invites left, I would appreciate getting one. I think having alt text for images should be a basic part of any social media in 2023, not an "extra" tacked on if someone gets around to it
Show threadBradford May 2, 2023
@Natanael_L interested in taking a look at this. curious how it compares.
Show threadPatrick WMay 2, 2023
@Natanael_L @changeling @objectinspace @chadloder ... If you happen to have an available invite I would be interested in seeing how accessible and such it is
Show threadDrew MochakMay 2, 2023
@BrailleScreen @Natanael_L @changeling @chadloder I don't, but I just said :P check the thread!
Show threadLazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈May 2, 2023
@chadloder in which case, how is that different to Elon's Twitter? 🤷‍♂️
Show threadZekeMay 2, 2023
@Lazarou @chadloder the whole appeal is that it's the same, but under the friendlier fascist dorsey
Show threadLazarou Monkey Terror 🚀💙🌈May 2, 2023
@Zeke @chadloder think I'll pass....
Show threadIdealistic Pragmatist May 2, 2023
@Lazarou @chadloder it sounds worse, frankly, if block isn’t a built-in feature.
Show threadKicko May 2, 2023
@IPEdmonton blocking on ios should be a update live today.
Show threadOrgaNikMay 2, 2023
@Lazarou @chadloder It was never even trying to be anything different
Show threadThedogspawMay 2, 2023
@chadloder
#blueskysocial no need to go anywhere were already on an open source decentralized platform don't let jack fool you
Show threadZekeMay 2, 2023
@chadloder is there advertising
Show threadChad LoderMay 2, 2023
@Zeke Not that I can see
Show threadDefiance!May 2, 2023
@chadloder @Zeke That's the best kind of ad tech. You don't even see it! 😂
Show threadCorvid CroneMay 2, 2023
@chadloder you can't block people on Bluesky? That right there is a reason not to use it.
Show threadMatunosMay 2, 2023
@CorvidCrone @chadloder i thought they recently (like a day or two ago) rolled out their block feature
Show threadRailleMay 2, 2023
@chadloder
Well Bluesky wanted to be like twitter!
Guess I'll stay here
Show threadJake in the desertMay 2, 2023
@chadloder haha, yeah, there's PLENTY of shitposting here just like there was on Twitter, it's just in different places. I have this normie account and then my super-secret tiny alt account that no one will ever find that's for posting insane stuff. Just like I had on Twitter 😂
Show threadTheFreedMay 2, 2023
@chadloder
So not a fan? There doesn't seem to be a grey area, people love it because there's no trolls and harassment or hate it, mostly due to Jack.
I think it's too early to call. Jack stated after the sell of Twitter it should never have been a product, it should have been a protocol.
Now he has the protocol, I hope he do the best out of it.
Personally I will stay on Mastodon for now.
Show threadChad LoderMay 2, 2023
@danfreed I'm not a fan of any for-profit social media networks
Show threadNemoMay 2, 2023
@chadloder
My biggest concern about Bluesky is that it just won't take off. People who are openly against Musk and his politics are leaving Twitter, but as far as I can tell, a lot of normies don't mind that much. That just leaves Mastodon and eventually Bluesky as left wing versions of Parler.
Show threadMatunosMay 2, 2023
@nemo @chadloder every decision that Musk makes for Twitter makes it more painful to use… currently viewing almost any post from a public person gets you a ton of right-wing blue check replies at the top of it because that's largely who is willing to pay for Twitter. So beyond the problematic owner, the site is just becoming more and more tedious to use. At any rate it'll be bankrupt soon.
Show threadNatanael ⚠️May 2, 2023
@matunos @nemo @chadloder the most recent thing on Twitter now is that paying blue checks can mass block targeted accounts to deboost them and make them less visible
Show threadMatunosMay 2, 2023
@Natanael_L @nemo @chadloder what he doesn't realize is that the more he tightens his grip, the more people will slip through his fingers
Show threadNatanael ⚠️May 2, 2023

@chadloder it has a labeling feature, but not yet exposed very well, which will be usable for moderation and content warnings too.

Blocks does exist now, recently released (note, blocks are public). Mutes has existed for even longer (they're private).

Alt texts were barely supported clients until recently and still is work in progress. It's getting there. Right now it's only exposed to screen readers and not displayed in the normal UX.

Show threadGATEKEEPERMay 2, 2023
@chadloder
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Show threadsanfierroMay 2, 2023
@chadloder I'm waiting for it to be actually federated or decentralized first, then it might gain my interest. Are there good essays on power dynamics, incentives, outcomes, agency of users, and other related topics, preferably involving game theory and real life examples, when it comes to various types of social networks, maybe even with technical details on what federated, distributed, decentralized and other terms mean?
Show threadKicko May 2, 2023
@chadloder I think the biggest issue is no matter what social media network you're on, they're just not that fun anymore because everybody's at odds with each other. It's just better to find a community or a little circle of friends where you can just share some general banter with imo
Show threadMatunosMay 2, 2023

@Kicko @chadloder when I heard about bluesky being "decentralized" that's what I imagined they were going for… focusing interactions on smaller communities of people with other (federated) communities at an arms length.

but that's more of a Facebook Groups type model than a Twitter replacement, which is what I think all its users expect.

Show threadKicko May 2, 2023
@matunos @chadloder hard to tell because it's one main server at the moment
Show threadMatunosMay 2, 2023
@Kicko @chadloder i think federation of servers and community-centric organization of the social network are related but different concepts. if bluesky isn't doing a small community-centric thing now I doubt they ever can.
Show threadKristoffer LawsonMay 2, 2023
@Kicko @chadloder it’s interesting going back to IRC channels for that. Small bunch of people you can talk nonsense with without the feeling your crap will forever be within the eyesight of the righteous Internet puritans. I can understand why people want that.
Show threadKicko May 2, 2023
@Setok @chadloder exactly.
Show threadStefan DembowskiMay 2, 2023
@chadloder Have you read the TOS? I heard (I've not read it and don't have an invite) but from some comments, it seems a bit extreme.
Show threadChad LoderMay 2, 2023
@I_am_stefan I've read the TOS, there is very little in there regarding user behavior
Show threadChaoddityMay 2, 2023
@chadloder you can shitpost on -any- platform.
Show threadMorgan le Fay/MerlinMay 2, 2023
@chadloder I haven’t even gotten an invite code yet. I’m staying here, but I can’t resist running my own accessibility testing on anything that has the potential to become popular.
Show threadCraig McgeeMay 2, 2023
@craignicol @chadloder think i'll stick to mastodon.
Show threadMab_813May 2, 2023

@chadloder

Alt texts & content warnings and the fact that so many people I follow use them is something I really, really like about the #fediverse.

Show threadDaniel Tuttle 🌵🤘May 2, 2023
@chadloder Bluesky has no block feature?😮
Show threadlgtmMay 2, 2023

@chadloder Content moderation is serious business, for example FB spends ~$500m on hiring firms overseas[1] for this, it's a huge industry [2]. Bulk of content moderation is not even regular hate speech, it's removing csm, snuff videos etc. Bluesky has fewer than two dozen people, they are in no position to scale.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/31/technology/facebook-accenture-content-moderation.html
[2] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2019-08-22/when-social-media-companies-outsource-content-moderation-far-from-silicon-valley

How Facebook Relies on Accenture to Scrub Toxic Content

The social network has constructed a vast infrastructure to keep toxic material off its platform. At the center of it is Accenture, the blue-chip consulting firm.

The New York Times
Show threadPhil SherryMay 2, 2023
@chadloder No alt-text, but plenty of alt-right.
Show threadInfiniteOneMay 2, 2023
@chadloder I may not agree with others decisions to join BlueSky, but also believe that we should use every platform and social media tool to network and build solidarity to push for a more just and equitable society, in the real world and in the Web. I don’t believe that is the end goal for Jack or Elon. Thanks for the update. Never say never.
Show threadDr Brooke MagnantiMay 2, 2023
@chadloder I'm not using alt text because it's not working for me - the window pops up but disappears as soon as I start to type. Everything is very beta.
Show threadDr Brooke MagnantiMay 2, 2023
@chadloder Also, if block hasn't appeared as a function for you, check for updates. It's been rolled out to Android a couple days and I think iOS has it now too.
Show threadCodyMay 2, 2023

@chadloder
The ability to block on Bluesky is there and has been there for a while now. They recognized not having blocking was an issue fairly quickly. There is an iOS update adding the feature to the UI that is being held back by Apple

Violent right wing accounts are also getting banned really quickly, and because of the invite tree it's very difficult for them to get new accounts

The content moderation tools aren't up to the task of large scale moderation yet, which is why it's invite only