I really don't like bluesky. And not just because of the more obvious things like the "racism slider" or that, as a fresh user with no feeds, the very first post it showed me was someone complaining that because they grew up privileged and ignorant they don't see why they have to learn the world is a bad place and they're part of the problem.
It reeks of "things that make sense in a software developer's head". It's so very libertarian techbro in every aspect of its design.
Want to search on a tag? Guess what: unless you know URL hacking, you aren't doing that directly.1 In fact it's pretty clear that while they support clicking on a tag you see, they don't really intend that to be the way you use the site.
No, you're supposed to use Feeds.
See, Bluesky doesn't have an algorithm. It has countless algorithms. Want to follow a #topic, or even a set of #topics? Either find something that has what you want in it, or become a developer! With a website!2 Instead of a faceless soulless corporation algorithm you get to choose who builds your echo chamber(s)3 or, if you have the technical expertise and the time to spend then you can truly curate your own. And since feeds are hosted elsewhere by effectively volunteers, they could poof at any time, leaving you as before you subscribed.
The only user-facing interface for normies is to follow people, build lists of people (which can power feeds), or subscribe to feeds by other people (and it sure wants to suggest certain feeds).
Bluesky seems very proud of how it has convinced people to run the more intensive CPU operations on computers they aren't paying for.
Now, if you do URL hack or click on a #hashtag, what do you see? Is it the most recent posts to that topic? No! Of course not! It's the Top posts, because you're supposed to interact with What's Hot. You're supposed to only look at recent posts as a last resort.
And I haven't even started on how everything is public. Who follows you? Public.4 Who you follow? Public. Put anything on a list? Public. What you like? Public. If it isn't a DM, it's public. I think the only thing it doesn't share is what Feeds and Moderation Services you use.5
At this point I'm like maybe I should just self-host a forum or something. Behind a VPN. Like an internet speakeasy. At least then I'd have something worth spending the requisite time and energy doing.
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Searching a profile on cohost for tags that aren't pinned requires the same URL-hacking. This could have been addressed eventually, in a different world.
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At which point why wouldn't I just self-host a, y'know, website. A fediverse one, if I really wanted to get more users and deal with that crap.
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Who are likely still faceless and possibly soulless, but not necessarily a corporation.
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Even Twitch realized this data mine should be closed off.
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Did I mention that moderation is done IRC style, in that it's actually handled by a bot that was stapled on instead of as part of the design of the system itself?
