The move to BlueSky doesn’t feel like migration. It feels like divorce

My password slope is simply a grounds to much than 80 antithetic accounts I created connected antithetic platforms, each promising to beryllium a large thing. Some died integer deaths without ever releasing. Some got taken implicit by the companies they were resisting. Some morphed into their evil doppelgangers, wreaking much havoc than what we were escaping from. When the abrupt wide exodus started, arsenic radical made melodramatic declarations that they are leaving Twitter and moving to Bluesky, I hesitantly opened my dormant Bluesky relationship to find astir 700 radical who person recovered and followed me. I haven’t yet figured retired if I volition travel them back.

My interactions with Twitter were constricted adjacent earlier things went down the crapper and came retired arsenic X. Let maine alteration that, my interactions with Twitter were constricted due to the fact that I had lone experienced it arsenic toxic, problematic, hate-filled and uncaring. Sure, determination were friends and their witty repartees, colleagues who live-tweeted conferences and events, and the joyousness of hopping connected a hashtag and riding it with joy, but those moments were exceptional alternatively than the norm. Even earlier Elon Musk unleashed hordes of trolls connected X, for many, it was fundamentally a unsafe abstraction — filled with surveillance, risk, and imaginable of abuse. For arsenic galore folks who person recovered X’s architecture utile to mobilise for societal bully and societal justice, I tin sanction and number disproportionately much radical who person been wounded by it.

In the aftermath of the US elections, arsenic galore wide and progressive radical sought thing to clutch connected to, leaving X and uncovering solace successful the echo chambers of Bluesky feels comforting. It feels similar we are doing something. But for those of america who were extracurricular the realm of integer attraction successful however we were subjected to hate, it is hard to stock this infinitesimal arsenic the infinitesimal wherever we migrate. If we person survived truthful far, we volition beryllium good going forward.

I admit each the method implementation that has gone into the architecture of Bluesky — the committedness of federated servers, the safeguards against hatred speech, and a much humane ranking and proposal strategy that is not astatine the mercy of profit-making algorithms. I tin spot wherefore the committedness of starting again — albeit with the aforesaid people, and without nonstop interaction with others — is alluring. And yet, I americium considering not doing thing actively connected Bluesky. I person 3 reasons for it.

First, I don’t spot immoderate of the communities which are present actively declaring their committedness to amended platforms doing overmuch erstwhile radical who were being impacted by them were not similar them. X, and Twitter earlier it, has had a agelong and checkered past of neglect, exploitation, and platforming hatred towards radical successful different parts of the world, and radical who were underserved. These migrating folks person been astatine slightest silent, if not complicit, successful letting this and different big-tech platforms proceed putting others successful harm, adjacent arsenic they present effort and fortify their harmless spaces of conversation.

Second, determination is nary warrant that BS (sorry, I couldn’t defy the acronymisation astatine slightest once) volition not spell down the way of different platforms who person besides made expansive declarations successful the past lone to beryllium pressured into compromising astatine the behest of shareholders, funders, and politicians. Much arsenic I privation to judge the proclamations that BlueSky is making, of however it volition ne'er bash evil, I retrieve putting spot successful different behemoth that erstwhile worked nether the motto of “Do nary evil”, and past turned connected us.

Third, and this is possibly the astir important one, I americium bushed of performing the labour of recreating networks, intimacies, connections, relationships, yet again. Sure, I recovered the tools that let maine to straight import each my X followers to BS. I tin spot that the conversations are already starting, which would excite and entice me. However, I americium not definite if I privation to trap myself connected yet different level wherever we volition make our networks of anemic ties for the level to yet profit.

This determination to BlueSky doesn’t consciousness similar migration. It feels similar divorce. I had nary emotion mislaid for X. Like galore others, I americium blessed to measurement retired of this toxic narration and enactment this transportation to an end. But similar sage dating advice, I americium not going to swipe close and hook up with BlueSky connected a rebound. I americium blessed to see a beingness without this level and spot if things are dramatically different. Right now, I person a Bluesky account. It is empty. I americium benignant of enjoying the soundlessness — of not reading, but also, of not saying anything.

The writer is prof of Global Media astatine the Chinese University of Hong Kong and module subordinate astatine the Berkman Klein Centre for Internet & Society, Harvard University, USA