Matt BlazeMy decision about whether to try Bluesky depends on what everyone else does. I just want to be where everyone else is, and not be around too many Nazis. My needs are simple.
For whatever it’s worth, I’m https://bsky.app/profile/mattblaze.bsky.social on Bluesky. We’ll see.
I have no idea whether I’ll stick around there. I don’t want a zillion different accounts to check all the time, so whatever ends up feeling like home is probably where I’ll stay.
There’s a lot I like about this place and the fediverse concept, but frankly, I still feel like a slightly unwelcome guest here six months in. Who knows.
The different account "verification" semantics on Mastodon vs Bluesky vs. (old) Twitter are interesting. Here, you prove you control one or more web pages listed in your profile. On Bluesky, you prove you control the DNS of a domain, which becomes your username. So verified names there are more likely to be tied to a PERSONAL domain, but on Mastodon you can more easily tie it to, e.g., your web page at a well-known employer.
The DNS-based verification is probably more "secure", insofar as taking over someone's DNS is usually a more heavyweight attack than simply slipping something in on a web page. But it's probably more meaningful to confirm that I'm the Matt Blaze who has a web page at Georgetown than that I'm whoever owns mattblaze.org.
Another difference is that with the DNS-becomes-your-name scheme, you're limited to binding your identity to a single domain. On Mastodon, you can list and verify as many web pages as you want in your profile.
Either way, much richer than Twitter, where it was "someone thinks this person is worth verifying" or (now) simply "has $8/month to burn".
One thing that remains to be seen is how important or useful identity verification for social media is in the first place. It's not clear that people actually check whether accounts are verified (or who they point to) before they react, or what they think verification means. And name collisions (there are other Matt Blazes out there) will always muddy the whole concept.
Both approaches remind me (in different ways) of the "web-of-trust" model for (email) keys, which, for all the attention it got, was basically a failure at scale.
Large-scale identity verification remains largely an unsolved problem with conflicting requirements.
Moshe Zadka@mattblaze Maybe the only meaningful verification on social media that scales is "cross checking".
I.e., you're the person who controls mattblaze.com, the relevant web page at Georgetown, the linkedin profile you have, your personal and work e-mail addresses, etc.
[We don't have a protocol for cross-checking, but I can at least imagine a reasonable one.]
Lou Katz@mattblaze To quote Barbie, "Math is hard"
Random Damage 🌻@mattblaze and Matt Blaze isn't even a common name.
I've worked with myself several times, sometimes even in the same room!
Kee Hinckley@RandomDamage @mattblaze I once found an indication on G+ that there was someone in Asia named “Kee Hinkley”, but otherwise I think I’m globally unique. Which has somewhat influenced my views on privacy, since I’m far too easy to search without any ambiguity.
I’m a not a fan of the domain ownership verification model. I know they’ve made it about as simple as you can in DNS, but it’s still technically elitist and financially out of reach for most people in the world. And as Matt says, it‘a not as useful to the reader as a connection to an actual institution or well-known blog.
@nazgul @mattblaze good points
Identity is a problem that is hard to scale well.
Doctor Biobrain@mattblaze I research everyone I follow on Mastodon to make sure they’re the real person and they actually post here and aren’t just forwarding posts from Twitter without visiting here.
Seeing the verification to a website is a big plus for me. Not that I’m worried about being scammed, I’m just really picky about who I get info from.
@biobrain What you do, what I do, what any individual does, isn't really the question. The decisive factor is what the norm is (or becomes).
Mark Tomczak@mattblaze Clearly, we should put up our social security numbers.
Only way to be sure. ;)
🥥 Tucker Carlson's Nuts 🥥@mattblaze 🥥 Now envisioning a scene like the one in the #KirkDouglas movie, "Spartacus," in which -- one after another -- a large group of bare-chested men declare, "I am #MattBlaze"!
Bonus for #Boomers: Cue #GarryMoore saying, "Will the real Matt Blaze please stand up"! 🥥
Bonus for #Boomers: Cue #GarryMoore saying, "Will the real Matt Blaze please stand up"! 🥥
Lauren Weinstein@mattblaze BS' "moderation" model and issues relating to control of nodes by administrators (or not) suggest that it will face a variety of content-related regulatory and other challenges that could quickly become chaotic as its userbase grows. Too soon to be sure, of course.
@lauren I suspect there’s no sustainable model for social media platforms. But it may be possible to have something usable and worthwhile for a while before it inevitably implodes. That might be ok.
@mattblaze Social media as we know it is probably doomed. Details and timeline TBA.
RevJeber@lauren @mattblaze
"...as we know it...". I agree. There's obviously a need for a centralized communication app, but it will need to be rethought and may even need new technology not yet discovered.
"...as we know it...". I agree. There's obviously a need for a centralized communication app, but it will need to be rethought and may even need new technology not yet discovered.
Norman Wilson@lauren @mattblaze Imminent death of USENET predicted. Film at 11.
@oclsc @mattblaze And die, for all practical purposes, it did. But it led the way to much worse. More to the point, the regulatory environment is utterly different now -- for all routine purposes it didn't exist for Usenet back then.
@lauren We got, what, 8-10 years out of Twitter before it started to turn into a disinformation weapon, and another few years after that before it completely imploded, so that's not a bad run. If Mastodon, or Bluesky, or whatever last half that long, that's still something. Anything still usable after 5 years might be like a spacecraft that keeps sending signals back after its batteries were supposed to be dead already. An unexpected bonus.
StuartB@mattblaze
@lauren
I've had accounts on various Fediverse servers (mostly Mastodon, but also others) since 2017.
And I wasn't in the first wave, or any of the first few waves.
I think we've succesfully passed that 5 year limit you talk of.
@lauren
I've had accounts on various Fediverse servers (mostly Mastodon, but also others) since 2017.
And I wasn't in the first wave, or any of the first few waves.
I think we've succesfully passed that 5 year limit you talk of.
Jeff Craig@mattblaze @lauren At this point, I'm looking forward to a return to smaller, more focused communities. Though there is a major problem to be solved in discovery of those communities.
@foxxtrot @mattblaze And controlling them. Inferior moderation systems make that effectively impossible.
Mike D@mattblaze
I'd prefer you stay even if it means I continue to see B&W photos.
I'd prefer you stay even if it means I continue to see B&W photos.
john spurling@mattblaze You're one of my favorite accounts here, FWIW. I can't blame you for losing patience with self-righteous jerks, though.
Michael Helm@synec @mattblaze Unfortunately (or otherwise) they are everywhere so ....
Bjorn Toft Madsen@mattblaze for me it gets better and better as I follow more interesting people & #hashtags. The first couple of months it felt like a desert … my trick to unlock the value was looking at people I followed initially and seeing who they followed. Now my graph feels fairly rich - too many posts actually and I am starting to think if client-side filtering is the answer to produce a snackable timeline where I can keep up.
Sami Seppo@BjornToftMadsen @mattblaze #Hashtags following – as a powerful common sense feature – should be better promoted on fediverse microblogging platforms. Hopefully progress will happen with that. 👍
@BjornToftMadsen @mattblaze It's weird that I can't even see what tags I follow, without typing them on search box and checking each by each.
@samiseppo @mattblaze yeah, #hashtags are so much more valuable as a way to build an interesting timeline. In fact it’s the only way to create a sense of “#curation” but #mastodon clients still treat them like the also-rans they were on late-stage Twitter.
@BjornToftMadsen @[email protected] #Curation by #hashtags following caresses one's curiosity and filtering interesting issues from feeds.
It's a shame if #Mastodon apps tend to ignore such power-feature.
Then again tag-following to an extend does tax the amount of following one might otherwise hurry to collect.
But in the longer sight it keeps one's feed more interesting and also suitable surprising when one's #echoChamber is less whole and not that solidly stable.
Stu Duerson, machina exo deusIf you settle somewhere else, please give us all some heads up. I think the trolls will follow anywhere, and if you face them directly, it's their game on. I just block and blithely go about my business. There's no troll like a blocked troll.
thatdosbox@mattblaze this might be useful for the next time someone scolds you for your tone: https://streamable.com/hgzrx5
field of fucks = notsofriendly_cho
*sigh*Ber nard@mattblaze would hate to loose you! Pls stay
Adam Fairhead@mattblaze I guess it’s kinda like moving to a new town or state.
The first social steps there are sort of uncomfortable and awkward.
But then you stick at it because you really want to live there.
🏡
@adamfairhead I guess I'm using it wrong.
@mattblaze at 23K followers it looks like you’re settling in quite well!
Alex Markley@mattblaze fwiw I have really enjoyed seeing your photos.
CrazyMyra@mattblaze Hope you stay. I too get tired of looking at replies and thinking: "You don't even know what you're talking about; no chance you'll get my point."
✡️ MG ✡️ #VoteBlue@mattblaze Oh, that's a great way of putting it - unwelcome guest, yes, I feel the same way.
12foxfire@mattblaze
I like it more and more every day.
I like it more and more every day.
FallsMom 🌻@mattblaze To each their own! I've been here six months, it feels like a good fit for me. Hope you find a place where you feel welcome! 
Laffy@mattblaze You're welcome in my feed anytime.
I've narrowed it down to Mastodon. I want nothing to do with another Jack-associated site, so I'm hoping it isn't a place where people land.
Tiny Frightening Woman@mattblaze you have 23,000 followers. I guess the real question is what your goal is?
@baba_lilith To be in a environment where I don’t feel like I have to constantly apologize for or justify things like that.
El Jefe "
" 
@mattblaze @baba_lilith not to be rude, and forgive me for being blunt but: why do you think you owe anyone anything? They don't pay you, they aren't blood, so why do they matter to you?
Hope this helps sort out why they live rent free in your head.
mcmjolnir@eljefedsecurit It’s because they keep harassing him. He’s not looking for people who criticize him. They keep posting to him, sending him DM’s, and even threatening him.
And your comment was incredibly rude and you know it. You’re doing the exact thing he keeps complaining about by posting to him as if he’s the problem for complaining about all the ridiculous criticism he gets.
The real question is: Why does his posts mean anything to you? He’s not posting to you, you posted to him.
@biobrain you got issues, and I wish you well.
@eljefedsecurit It’s hilarious seeing you pretend to wish me well after insulting me. Just like you did with Matt by pretending you weren’t trying to be rude before blaming him for complaining about all the harassment he gets. That’s very transparent.
You need to think about what you’re posting and understand you’re talking to real people and not fictional characters you’re judging from above.
@mattblaze I wasn’t suggesting you apologize, I’m actually wondering what your goal is.
@baba_lilith I think I answered that. I want to be in a place where I feel comfortable and welcome. This hasn’t really been particularly great.
Jeff C. 🇺🇦🇬🇱@mattblaze @baba_lilith This is understandable.
And I regret that this hasn’t been that place for you.
I hope that you stick around, as I appreciate your contribution here. But, if not, I hope you find greener pastures to land in.
Dan Gillmor@mattblaze Hope you'll stay and help support decentralization...
Arena Cops 🇺🇦✌@mattblaze Welcome here, Matt, where you're given the extraordinary opportunity to be your own algorithm, instead of being the controlled victim of an antisocial medium!
Mike J👹🐀 🤘🏻@mattblaze In Seattle, we have people who call themselves mossbacks. They tend to look down on recent arrivals.
The working definition of a mossback is anybody who moved here 5 minutes before you did.
It often feels like mossbacktodon is a thing.
Algernon D'Ammassa@mattblaze Welcome! Have some dip!
AshevillewithGrace@mattblaze it’s a great platform - but old habits die slowly. I need a quit Twitter support group 😎