Bluesky would really benefit from a notional ($1/year) signup fee. That small bit of friction makes a vast difference in knocking down all kinds of spam, at the price of being considered a bit uncool (for having a revenue stream).
Not to mention that this won't solve the spam that actually matters. What's dropping a few thousand dollars to a dedicated attacker?
And yes, it really shouldn't go up. SomethingAwful was 10bux back in 2005, and is still 10bux in 2025 (they monetized other things over the decades, but not the entry cost).
Can it be exploited? Sure, about as much as Bluesky can add "Bluesky Gold" at any time. When it enshittifies I hope it takes a shorter time to leave than Twitter.
>inb4 someone tells me how everyone can afford $1
if you have the time to be commenting on social media, you can afford $1. The cost of electricity to run your phone for a month is probably $1.
I had to slash a bunch of my expenses this year, but any issues with social media costs would be more of a time issue for me, not a cost issue.
I don’t see the issue. Lots of things (most much more important than a bluesky account) cost money. Is having a Bluesky account like a fundamental human right or something?
Putting up a paywall hasn't deterred bots, and it won't work.