So here's a little bombshell for y'all: over the past two months I was interviewing for a role on Bluesky's trust & safety team, whilst I didn't end up getting the role, I had a lot of people from the ActivityPub community encouraging me to apply to it.
I didn't say anything publicly at the time, and perhaps never would have — it didn't happen after all, and I couldn't afford for people to get mad and cancel their donations in support of my work on Trust & Safety in the Fediverse and especially Mastodon. I've already had some cancellations occur seemingly in direct reaction to me diversifying and doing more work with AT Protocol.
I applied because my work on the Fediverse has been fundamentally unsustainable for the entire year, and because it was a role I could learn & grow in. There's a lot that can be said for an opportunity to work on something larger than I've worked on previously.
This year I've barely scraped by, unable to afford things that would allow me to live a better life & be more productive. I've been struggling with health issues stemming from a likely MCAS diagnosis, where food randomly sends me into coughing fits so bad I vomit at times. It's also amplified by stress, and my goodness I've had a lot of that this year.
Even if I had gotten the job, I would've continued in my role as co-lead (and founder) of the ActivityPub Trust & Safety taskforce, which has been a thankless job, and one I'm constantly pushed for time on. I did find myself at one point asking @darius
If I should step down, because I know my health can sometimes make things difficult (I can't always make meetings because some days I can barely leave my bed due to stomach cramps and nausea.
Next, let's have a look at current funding & some wins.
wakest likes your bugs ⁂
Taggart
Moved to @
Bill Mill
Emelia 👸🏻
kat