reminder that @rude1.blacksky.team and his super smol team is running a completely different software stack seperate from bluesky EXCLUSIVELY ON GRANTS & COMMUNITY DONATIONS 🤯
YOU can keep blacksky moving forward by setting up a one-time or recurring donation
[ donate ] blacksky.community/support
What you can do while @bsky.app is getting stuff fixed - just use @skeetsapp.com to log into blacksky.community and enjoy microblogging.
A bit of context: Israel has been attacking Lebanon and violating its sovereignty since at least 1968, when Israeli commandos landed in helicopters at Beirut airport and destroyed 12 passenger planes
You wanna know the difference between Blacksky and other social media platforms from a T&S perspective? This type of thought work.
Understanding the needs of my community, describing the violences we experience and taking action against them where we can.
That’s what the difference is.
this is a pretty solid, informative, and nuanced write-up about how @rude1.blacksky.team has been leveraging AI to build/scale something that would previously have been impossible... i'm hoping their community votes in favor of the team continuing to use these tools in intentional/thoughtful ways
i wish every platform held the same integrity and transparency as these folks.
you can still use your blacksky.app handle with the Bluesky mobile app. the purpose of the identity system is so you aren't locked into one place
Just set "hosting provider" to "https://blacksky.app" during login.
Some of these issues will clear up over time where we fill in data from the network.
ok if there’s no Ralph’s Italian Ices where you live you have to let me know and I will literally mail you some it’s that good
Read, discuss, think deeply, and prepare to vote later this week.
The Iran war is destroying US hegemony.
Iran is using this moment to dismantle a key pillar of US power — the petrodollar.
For the last 50 years nearly all oil has been purchased in dollars. But Iran and China are starting to kill off this pillar of the US empire.
www.jphilll.com/the-war-agai...
new: you can now start a voluntary, sliding scale subscription or one-off tip to support @blackskyweb.xyz from directly in our app. 💸
Live now at blacksky.community/support
Built by @rishkebab.blacksky.team
new: Blacksky People’s Assembly conversations display embedded inside posts on blacksky.community
In our next conversation, you’ll be able to vote on People's Assembly topics while scrolling the feed and without leaving our app. 🗳️
When I moved to Blacksky, I set up a monthly payment. And the tech support has been like night and day. Bluesky: “We received your request and are forwarding it to the appropriate person.“ Then crickets. Blacksky: Personal, useful help within 24 hours every time.
Suppose a Bluesky user does not want any of their public data to be used for generative AI training. They would go in to app settings, find the data reuse preferences section, and configure “Generative AI” 🤖 to “disallow” 🚫.
The app would create this public record in their repository:
I single-handedly run all the same technology that Bluesky, the ~40 person, $136M company does. My @blackskyweb.xyz team does full-stack content-moderation, ships products core to our mission + partners with orgs so we can be a long-term sustainable business
If you rely on us pls pay a subscription
To address the questions and concerns around the role of agentic coding tools such as Claude Code in our software development toolchain, we are putting together a formal AI policy document that we will share with the community early next week to vote on via this page.
We want to clear up any misinformation or controversies that we are using AI in moderation. We do not and have not utilized AI in our moderation practices. When presenting Blacksky-only posts to the community, we launched two discussions for voting on the People’s Assembly.
big fan of this (and happen to share these positions). most of our contradictions are not as contradictory as they seem until people try to redefine them in bad faith. talking openly about where you stand and realizing you believe in what you’re doing always helps.
Finally done. I was able to talk with @pfrazee.com, as well as a handful of other folks with insight on the situation.
#atmosphereconf
trezy.com/blog/the-mar...
bluesky account on twitter: every time a software tool adds an Al feature nobody asked for, a human logs off
i still think posting this was a huge fucking L. i struggle to explain why exactly but the current backlash feels earned because of this posturing
A couple of people posing for a selfie
Germ x Blacksky x Eurosky x Bluesky
#AtmosphereConf ❤️
@germnetwork.com, @blackskyweb.xyz, @eurosky.social, @bsky.app
Blacksky team at dinner
Blacksky team at conference
There’s a power in being able to find where you belong in this capitalistic world and I am so happy that I found where I belong. @rude1.blacksky.team @thezodiacheir.blacksky.team @marisa.blacksky.team @rishkebab.blacksky.team @torrho.blacksky.team
couldn’t name a better duo 🫶
her and @thezodiacheir.blacksky.team’s wisdom and care are a big part of what make Blacksky such an innovative and important effort that I’m so proud I get to contribute to. everything is considered and community driven - no shortcuts.
@drkalyncoghill.blacksky.team sharing what it means to be a thoughtful community steward and member. so many valuable insights that extend into life beyond t&s (e.g. valuing lived experiences & collective input over credentials/meritocracy)✨
Dr. Kay and a slide showing the BlackSky moderation tool, moderating 50K posts for misogynoir, anti black harassment, violence, doxxing, non consensual intimate imagery, synthetic imagery, white supremacism or anti blackness
@moderation.blacksky.app is THEE only moderation tool on EARTH that labels and moderates misogynoir, racialized misogyny toward Black women.
This is generational technology work. Led by community, enabled by decentralization.
@drkalyncoghill.blacksky.team
Dr. Kay presenting in a room. On the screen: Where things go wrong in Trust & Safety: • Lack of community trust • Ignorance of cultural nuances • Unwillingness to acknowledge mistakes • Being reactive instead of proactive • Words + Actions that don't match = DANGER ZONE • Not understanding the community you serve
@drkalyncoghill.blacksky.team nails it
“There’s a lack of trust in T&S” because they don’t often serve the community