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Comment by uncharted9 | Hacker News Reader

Unrelated question: How is Bluesky different from early Twitter and how can we be sure that it won't devolve into same current Twitter (or X) after 10 years?

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This isn't fully up to date, but back in February I wrote a description in medium technical depth about how Bluesky works: https://steveklabnik.com/writing/how-does-bluesky-work/

Since then, they've added stuff

> Labeling exists, but I do not believe you can run your own labeler yet.

This now exists, for example.

But the core is still the same, and still correct, so you may find it helpful.

They have put a lot of effort into protocol design to make it a federated service. If it works out as intended, other servers can be established, and users can migrate to a different server if they wish.

https://blueskyweb.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/19002666608...

Why is that a better solution? We can make a nonfederated new twitter today but how will you get everyone to switch?

The point of federation is that you don't need to get everyone to switch. If (when?) the original bluesky is enshittified, you just pick up and leave for a different server. You get to keep your handle, at least if you have gone to the trouble of creating one outside of the bsky.social domain. You can still follow and be followed by the same people as before, even if they stay behind or move to a third server. (This works even if you do change your handle.) I hasten to admit that I am new to bluesky myself, and haven't absorbed all the technical details – to put it mildly. Take with a helping of salt.

> how can we be sure that it won't devolve into same current Twitter (or X) after 10 years?

It probably will, just like most other internet services. Nothing is forever, especially on the internet. Enjoy the good things now and be prepared to move on to something else later.

It's early Twitter + the good things we learned about since then + cool open source features.

- Table stakes are there – Retweets, feeds, chat - You can create your own feeds - "Starter packs" are collections of people to follow, which really helps with the cold start problem. - No penalty for posting links - No algorithmic shadow banning. It just shows posts in order chronologically.

The biggest thing that feels missing is live sports updates.

Everything on the Internet is an experiment, and Enshittification[1] pretty much assures that everything will devolve, it's the evolutionary pressure of late stage capitalism.

Sic transit gloria mundi[2] -- Enjoy the good things while they last, celebrate them, for all things are temporary.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sic_transit_gloria_mundi

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