skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Any labeler service to can become a reporting option once you've subscribed to them. Some may limit what categories they accept reports for though and may not show up for all report types.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Just FYI, skywatch.blue is not an official moderation service per se (ie provided by Bluesky PBLLC), just a fairly large and commonly used one. Third-party moderation services are a feature of Bluesky and the ATProto platform it's built on.
The internet is becoming harder to use because of unintended consequences in the battle between adult content creators who are trying to protect their livelihoods and the people who pirate their content. đź”— www.404media.co/how-onlyfans...
Oh look, it's the completely predictable consequences that literally everyone warned would happen, actually happening!
Oh come on www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Not quite the right number but for part 1: bsky.app/profile/auto... Hope this helps at least a bit.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
If you subscribe to any of these other labelers, it definitely has options to report to them as well. If you're only seeing one option to report a post/account to, then you haven't subscribed to any others. It's step 2 of the process, after selecting the category for why something is being reported.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
There is not only one moderator account on Bluesky, just only one set of moderation services provided by Bluesky PBLLC directly themselves: bsky.social/about/blog/0... Others are welcome and intended to exist.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
And probably most critically when it comes to allocating limited developer resources: the UK law shows no sign of being repealed or successfully challenged in court. The MS case is likely (hopefully) to be decided somewhat soon with at least one of SCOTUS calling it "likely unconstitutional".
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The UK requires it for access to potentially harmful content and features. MS requires it for all accounts. The UK has a population of close to 69 million. MS less than 3.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
An explanation of follow farming: bsky.app/profile/raha...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
There may be some false positives in terms of accounts that don't actually have the typical behavior of high following accounts but some people may be willing to put up with that to improve the overall quality of their main or discover feeds when all it takes is subscribing to a single mod list.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The automated-lists use the second type of verification. As for what these lists do for anyone: some people find it useful to filter out those who follow too many people. I'd imagine it's based on what kind of posts typically come from people who follow that many other accounts.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Domain verification does not require you to be notable. A bit confusingly, there are multiple types of verification on Bluesky. One is notability and done manually by Bluesky or other trusted verifiers. The second is one that anyone with their own domain name can use by proving control of it.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The person who runs the lists uses the lists to block people on their personal account but the actual account that has the lists does not. You can still contact the list creator through the account that has the lists.
Ok - so I'm going to do a real context+write up but for now, here's what some of these things look like. To start my data reference is DCinbox which is ~208,000 official e-newsletters over the past 15 years.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
2. I do not believe that the two services are run by the same people. There would be little point for the same person to make a second one covering the same topics. I do suspect they may use the same automation software and maybe even similar criteria (e.g. hashtags used) to make their lists though.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
You can't even directly see that you've been added to a list in the regular Bluesky interface/app.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
I believe that the one sending notifications has more responsibility here because there would be no sign when using the regular Bluesky you've been added to a list twice without that service sending the messages to you.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Either could keep track of who they have already added to a list to avoid adding people to the same list multiple times or sending out duplicate notifications but neither does.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The notification service you're using to stay informed about who is adding you to the lists does not check if you are already on the list either. It sees that you've been added to the list and sends you another message, regardless of if you were already on that list or not.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
1. The labeler account adding you to the list (and applying its associated label) does not check if you are are already on the list when it encounters something from you that would cause it to add you to the list. This means that every time it sees something that fits its rules, it just adds you.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
It's automated, based solely on current following or followers counts, and doesn't claim anything (or care) about whether the user vets who they follow or not. It's just about numbers.
In July, Judge Xinis tried to get info about the government’s plans to deport Abrego after his release from criminal custody. DOJ insisted that nothing would be decided until he’s in ICE custody and assigned a desk officer. He’s not in ICE custody but suddenly they know exactly what the plan is.
Unfortunately, Bluesky is unavailable in Mississippi right now, due to a new state law that requires age verification for all users. While intended for child safety, we think this law poses broader challenges & creates significant barriers that limit free speech & harm smaller platforms like ours.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Even if someone has blocked you, you can still view enough of their profile to block them back through the ... menu. Being able to take moderation actions regardless of block status, either individually through blocks or more broadly through labeling/lists, is just a necessary part of the platform.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The ability to add someone to a moderation (mute/block) list isn't affected by blocks. If it was, anyone doing anything bad would just block all of the moderators before they could get to them. e.g. MAGA people would just block @skywatch.blue to avoid being put on the MAGA list you're using.
"THE BIG FREEZE is [] radical guerrilla tactics. But I also believe that if we can’t cabin immigration enforcement away now as the known province of white nationalist Nickelback fans who are hopelessly bad in bed and never tip more than 10% that we don’t stand a chance of stopping what’s coming."
"There are [now] no democratic means to remove ICE, CBP, or [their accomplices] from government. But... this country has never been more ready to join together across race, class, gender, & political loyalties to abolish ICE...if not from government, than from society" Introducing: THE BIG FREEZE
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social)
@brodierobertson.xyz stoppromotingwayland.netlify.app Is this another joke one or is it a serious one?
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
We must refuse to allow the U.S. government and the media to normalize mass censorship in response to a manufactured moral panic about technology and social media.
Dear Democrats: “Trump is ripping health insurance from 17 million people while spending hundreds of millions of your tax dollars on obscenely lavish renovations” is such an easy message that will piss off voters going into midterms. Please don’t screw it up.
Today we learned Andrew Cuomo is directly coordinating with Donald Trump, even as this President sends masked agents to rip our neighbors off the streets and guts the social services so many New Yorkers rely on. It’s disqualifying and a betrayal of our city.
People have trouble interpreting this. Nobody’s saying Donald Trump or Pam Bondi are personally selecting Nazi iconography. They don’t read enough for that. The point is they hire and promote Nazis who ARE steeped in Nazi iconography, and they’re fine with it.
OK, legitimately this is a terrible and dangerous bill that will allow Big IP - like Disney, Warner, recording labels, etc - to have the ability to compel your ISP to block you from accessing parts of the internet. If you're concerned, you should probably follow @mrose.ink for more.
On Saturday, 1% of all posts on this site were fundraising links. However, median labeled account posts 1 link per day. I’m using median because Fundraisers Georg posts one link every three seconds and skews measures of central tendency.
Chat, est-ce vrai?
Didn’t Take Long To Reveal The UK’s Online Safety Act Is Exactly The Privacy-Crushing Failure Everyone Warned About Well, well, well. The “age assurance” part of the UK's Online Safety Act has finally gone into effect, with its age checking requirements kicking in a week and a half ago. And what…
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
Further updates on that "there's no way the UK would ever possibly come for VPNs" thing
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
There were disagreeing bots months ago: bsky.app/profile/skyw... I'm sure they could have gotten better since then.
Everyone who said "there's no way the government would ever ban VPNs, that's ridiculous!" to me can choke on a dick, unless you like choking on dicks, in which case you can never choke on a dick again
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
Every time VPN installations surge in response to new laws, it deepens digital divides because the privileged who can afford VPNs get a better Internet than the less privileged who can't mashable.com/article/prot... My paper against age authentication laws: ssrn.com/abstract=520...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Context: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-te...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
"This user has been here since before the media tab (August 2023). This label is not a label of honor—no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here. This label is meant in jest and dates to early experiments in labeling. It is applied to the first 800,000 Bluesky accounts. Appeals honored."
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Wait, you can't use labelers in the UK without verifying? That's kind of a big feature to leave out of their blog post and the first I'm hearing about it...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
It's more of an indicator rather than a strict privacy setting. Since the protocol Bluesky is built on is fully public (posts, blocks, likes, etc), it just gives apps and services a hint as to how to handle an account but doesn't actually prevent stuff like viewing or scraping.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Just 4: that you marked your account to try not to be viewable to logged-out users, two for what time you joined Bluesky, and one joke oracle label predicting how you will die ("Crushed Piano"). You can check on here but I'd recommend not obsessing over it: clearsky.app/magnumificen...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
A label from the third-party labeling/content moderation service skywatch(.)blue: bsky.app/profile/skyw...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
A Techdirt troll was pointing to this news today as evidence that Trump's plans are popular. But his policies are equally as unpopular. Seems pretty clear people hate Trump's policies AND HATE THAT THE DEMS DON'T SEEM TO BE ACTING WITH ANY SENSE OF URGENCY TO STOP THEM.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
I believe it's less about specific pieces of info that have been shared by an account in the past and more about how an account operates: bsky.app/profile/tale...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
This one has Singal plus others: bsky.app/profile/for....
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Third label is that you joined before the media tab was added/in the first ~800k accounts. More of a funny label than a serious one: "This label is not a label of honor—no highly esteemed deed is commemorated here." Fourth label is a comical death prediction from a joke oracle account.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
First label is that you turned on the option to "discourage apps from showing my account to logged-out users" in the Bluesky settings. Second label is when you joined (July 2023). Labels on the backend can only be lowercase letters and - so that's probably why a placeholder and not the actual year.
Ghislaine Maxwell Can’t Help But Notice Interview Room Covered In Plastic Sheeting
OK now everyone who has given Mamdani shit over something he never said has to publicly explain how this quote by a member of the Israeli government makes them feel www.timesofisrael.com/far-right-mi...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The labeler has a post thread explaining a bit more about what changes they are doing if you want more specifics but unfortunately it has links/quote posts turned off so I can't link it directly.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Having either of the services checking if you were already on a list first before doing anything would take additional resources from the developers of those services and/or more resources from Bluesky when adding/notifying.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
The Skywatch list is the same list, but the service is mostly automated. When you do something that matches its rules you get added to the list, whether you were already on it or not. The list notification service you use is also automated and also doesn't check if you're on a list or not.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
COPYRIGHT IS NOT LABOR PROTECTION COPYRIGHT HAS BEEN ABSOLUTE DOGSHIT AS LABOR PROTECTION FOR THE LAST 400 YEARS PASS LABOR LAWS STOP ASKING COPYRIGHT TO FIX THE WORLD
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Totally not mad they can't do their "signature style" of headlines without proving him right.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
and: "“And since you will undoubtedly read about this trip in The New York Post – inshallah on the front page – here are a few of my humble suggestions for headlines,” he said, before dropping a few pale imitations of The Post’s signature style."
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
They went with the headlines: "Zohran Mamdani heads to Uganda to celebrate wedding months after secretly tying knot" or "Zohran Mamdani visits Uganda with wife after secret wedding" That seems a bit tame compared to some of their others.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
bsky.app/profile/skyw...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
They've disabled reporting while they change which labels they have. They're mainly keeping the ones that can be automated, i.e. the ones that don't require "substantial moderator input to apply". The labeler has a set of posts about the changes in its feed.
If you know the (somewhat misleading) story of "cargo cults"... this is a cargo cult video. Someone checked off the boxes of what they thought it took to make a compelling Mamdani video, without understanding what actually goes into making a Mamdani video.
I told y'all Bluesky was just the first to tell you what was coming
He sold vaccine cards and injected kids with saline so they thought they were vaccinated. There are no rules anymore
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
It's also important to note that there is no harassment without the duplicate notifications from the service. From the normal Bluesky interface without that service, you can't even see what lists you're on and especially not that you've been added multiple times.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Either service could check if someone is already on a list before adding/notifying someone but it would add additional costs (either to Bluesky API usage which has limits or local storage of list memberships that then might get out of sync with what's actually on Bluesky).
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
It's not adding people to lists multiple times for harassment purposes, it's just a limit of how emitting labels/list additions without checking if someone is on one already works (same with duplicate notifications from the notification service).
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
While it is a third-party moderation service (ie not operated directly by Bluesky), a lot of what it does is automated. The code (but not the individual rules) for the automation is here: github.com/skywatch-bsk...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
It's automated. Anything that matches one of its rules gets you added to the label/list, without checks for if you're already on it or not. The same happens with your notification service, it sends a message whether you were already on the list or not.
Department of Justice declares it has a new sweeping power to use antitrust laws to regulate the *marketplace of ideas* because words have no meaning and the federal government is run by a bunch of feckless thugs with the collective IQ of hamster bedding. www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...
Xinis: Let me stop you. You're making the plaintiff's point. This is precisely why they need preliminary relief. Because the gov won't say what's happening. You're saying he'll be treated exactly like anyone else....that's not credible...I'm just telling you, I'm not buying that.
HAPPENING NOW: Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are back in court following yesterday’s wild evidentiary hearing. The parties have re-convened for oral argument on Abrego’s motion to be returned to Maryland if he’s released from criminal custody in TN next week. Follow along ⬇️ 🧵
people discovering that age verification laws are bad, privacy-invasive nightmares that chill speech and intimidate adults from participating online
This is because of the Online Safety Act, and UK folks had better get used to doing this because every site on the internet that "is likely to be accessed by children" and has users in the UK will be doing this as of 25 July; that's Ofcom's deadline.
Missouri AG: Any AI That Doesn’t Praise Donald Trump Might Be “Consumer Fraud” (No, Really) Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey just sent threatening letters to Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Meta, claiming their AI chatbots violated Missouri's consumer protection laws. The crime? When asked…
Rand: Did it cross your mind when you looked at the court's order that you should speak to someone familiar with this case at DHS or ICE? Giles: No it did not cross my mind
HAPPENING NOW: Hello again from Greenbelt, Maryland, where an ICE official is set to be questioned about the Trump administration's plans to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia if he's released from criminal custody in Tennessee. I'm here for @lawfaremedia.org. Follow along 🧵⬇️
These documents contain numerous disturbing details that not only corroborate the whistleblower’s claims but also highlight DOJ’s efforts to mislead a federal court and disregard its orders. READ THE DOCS HERE: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25... AND HERE: www.documentcloud.org/documents/25...
strong contender for worst published story of the year (so far). literally want to confirm he’s not chad wolf’s brother after reading just the opening of this.
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Hmm, if only there was some kind of software that helped websites deal with bots and scrapers?
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
"In addition, directory.fsf.org, the server behind the Free Software Directory, has been under attack since June 18. This likely is an LLM scraper designed to specifically target Media Wiki sites with a botnet. This attack is very active and now partially mitigated." www.fsf.org/blogs/sysadm...
We are pleased to report that this list has been restored!
If you are looking for the block list associated with the TERF-GC label, please be aware that it has been temporarily been hidden by Bluesky as potentially “violat[ing] our Community Guidelines.” We have of course appealed and hope to restore this service to you in short order.
The only newsworthy items from the NYT hit on Mamdani are: 1. NYT reporters are apparently chummy with white nationalists who spout eugenics 2. NYT editors apparently believe their peers are trolls like Chris Rufo 3. NYT "standards" for using hacked materials are not actually followed
BREAKING: Documents filed in court today assert that officials from El Salvador told the United Nations that it "facilitated the use of the Salvadoran prison infrastructure" by the U.S. but that "the jurisdiction and legal responsibility for these persons lie exclusively with the" U.S.
Elon Musk Has Adjusted Grok, The In-House AI on X, To Be More Overtly White Nationalist. But Who Will Adjust The AI Of Bluesky Progressives To Be More Open-Minded? Megan McArdle, Tomorrow In The Washington Post
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Any chance for a webpage at skywatch.blue with links to the various policy posts?
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
And of course I find this after I post: bsky.app/profile/skyw... I'm guessing Bluesky search doesn't let you use from: with custom domain handles?
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
And a question about it: bsky.app/profile/them...
skewer0846.bsky.social (@skewer0846.bsky.social) reply parent
Another mention: bsky.app/profile/yo-m... And the account: bsky.app/profile/brit...