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1. Embed this notice
   Elena Rossini ⁂ (_elena@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 20:04:53 JST Elena Rossini ⁂

   • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

   A PSA for people active on #Bluesky: your block list is PUBLIC information.

   A website that tracks Bluesky stats – which I am not naming here on purpose – makes this job super easy: you can enter *any* username and see the accounts any user has blocked.

   (Yes I tested it with my account and was horrified)

   I'm alarmed by this because the information could be weaponized for abuse.

   Muting may be the safer choice then?

   Please read up about Bluesky here: https://dustycloud.org/blog/how-decentralized-is-bluesky/ (by @cwebber)

   • Rocketman, Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀, dave and anban repeated this.
   • Embed this notice
     Elena Rossini ⁂ (_elena@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 20:09:04 JST Elena Rossini ⁂

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     Oh and I also saw who blocked *ME* - that took about 3 seconds, the information is just a click away. (No hurt feelings there, but still, truly horrified this is public information - do the blockers know this?!?)

     As @cwebber wrote: "[On Bluesky] everything is public, including who you block" https://dustycloud.org/blog/how-decentralized-is-bluesky/

   • Embed this notice
     lucie digitální (luciedigitalni@aus.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 20:15:35 JST lucie digitální

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber that sounds dangerous

   • Embed this notice
     j720 (j720@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 21:23:06 JST j720

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber since Mastdon is also open source wouldn’t someone be able to do the same thing ?

   • Embed this notice
     Diane Court (dc2fla@me.dm)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 21:28:58 JST Diane Court

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber Thanks for this!! 😯

   • Embed this notice
     Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀 (cwebber@social.coop)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 21:59:33 JST Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     in reply to

     • lobingera

     @lobingera @_elena "recent newbies" is most of the userbase now

   • Embed this notice
     lobingera (lobingera@chaos.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 21:59:34 JST lobingera

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber on the "do the know this?" - people early on bsky (esp. in the invite-only phase) are pretty much aware, recent newbies might have missed this information

   • Embed this notice
     Rose (rosewsgf@mastodon.gamedev.place)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:12:56 JST Rose

     in reply to

     @_elena A similar issue is that Bridgy Fed publicly shares your likes if they involve Bluesky users.

   • Embed this notice
     Karen Melchior (karmel80@norrebro.space)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:14:01 JST Karen Melchior

     in reply to

     @_elena I share your fear, but also stand by my blocks

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:22:49 JST Stefan Bohacek

     in reply to

     @_elena When I learned about this, I rushed to Bluesky to make a rare post and "warn people".

     But first, I wanted to search if anybody's talking about this. And people seem to already know! And are fine with it?

     I think folks are already hooked, and it's like telling everyone that Twitter/X is a nazi bar two years ago.

   • Embed this notice
     Tom Walker (tomw@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:25:36 JST Tom Walker

     in reply to

     @_elena Worse, if you're a determined troll, you can pick an account you're a fan of (let's imagine it's some famous far right figure) and then go and bother everyone who has blocked them

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:45:40 JST Stefan Bohacek

     in reply to

     @_elena Oh well. We'll have another chance, we just have to be better ready for it.

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:45:41 JST Stefan Bohacek

     in reply to

     @_elena I really think we fumbled it with the lack of privacy and safety features, like reply controls, causing much of the newcomers to be driven away. Yeah, we don't have quote-boosts, but on Bluesky you can't even edit your messages.

     Some things people complained about didn't really matter all that much. If we got some of the really important stuff right, we'd see people stick around, and eventually bring over their friends.

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 22:45:42 JST Stefan Bohacek

     @_elena Yeah, and don't even bother telling them that well actually Bluesky isn't really all that decentralized.

     It's pretty interesting though, seeing what people are willing to put up with to stay with their community. And I don't mean that in a bad way. This shows that a social media has to capture a dedicated base first, and the rest will follow.

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:24:26 JST Stefan Bohacek

     @_elena Well I don't disagree, I wouldn't want to see certain aspects of the culture here to change, for sure.

     But I would welcome some of the diversity, especially if we could be more welcoming to Black and brown folks, and creators. Makes me all that much more grateful to those who are still here, roughing it out with us.

     I'm still having a much better time here than I could elsewhere if I had to compromise on my values!

   • Embed this notice
     Karen Melchior (karmel80@norrebro.space)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:27:56 JST Karen Melchior

     @_elena I block those I would have or had already blocked on Twitter. Preemptive blocking :)

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Bohacek (stefan@stefanbohacek.online)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:29:35 JST Stefan Bohacek

     @_elena Nice, looking forward to reading this!

   • Embed this notice
     brotherJeffrey (brotherjeffre@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:29:37 JST brotherJeffrey

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber Nobody cares enough about what I say to bother with lists.

   • Embed this notice
     Martin (martintheg@aus.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:31:56 JST Martin

     • lucie digitální

     @_elena @luciedigitalni Re-thinking my trial of a BlueSky presence. Only thought of it due to FOMO and I don"t really think I am. The quality is here, in mastodon

   • Embed this notice
     🇨🇦️Lunatic At Large 🇨🇦️ (lunaticatlarge@toot.io)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:31:56 JST 🇨🇦️Lunatic At Large 🇨🇦️

     in reply to

     • lucie digitální
     • Martin

     @martintheg @_elena @luciedigitalni I was there via an invite. I looked around, found it too much like the bird site (at the time) and left. Mastodon suits my social media needs quite well

   • Embed this notice
     Polititunes (polititunes@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:34:13 JST Polititunes

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber this is great information. Thank you. Deleted my account there but still know plenty of folks I’ll forward this to. Thanks!

   • Embed this notice
     nixCraft 🐧 (nixcraft@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:36:14 JST nixCraft 🐧

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber that will definitely open up for abuse. Thanks for the heads up. 🙏

   • Embed this notice
     Santiago Lamelo (slamelov@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:39:28 JST Santiago Lamelo

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber

     I would really proud to make my block list public.

   • Embed this notice
     🇨🇦️Lunatic At Large 🇨🇦️ (lunaticatlarge@toot.io)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:39:40 JST 🇨🇦️Lunatic At Large 🇨🇦️

     @_elena At least here one can talk with others without the teeth marks on one's butt. 😆

   • Embed this notice
     CleoMatra (cleomatra@mastodon.social)'s status on Monday, 25-Nov-2024 23:41:31 JST CleoMatra

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber 🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

   • Embed this notice
     Ohsin (ohsin@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 01:23:48 JST Ohsin

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber I wanted to make multiple lists with many accounts for various reasons but apparently these lists would also be public..that's a no go.

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Scholl (stefan_s_from_h@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 01:25:15 JST Stefan Scholl

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber this doesn't convince the hardcore Bluesky bros.

   • Embed this notice
     Stefan Scholl (stefan_s_from_h@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 01:25:40 JST Stefan Scholl

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber this doesn't convince the hardcore Bluesky bros.

   • Embed this notice
     sortius (sortius@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 02:12:40 JST sortius

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber the safest choice is to not use Bluesky.

     Trading one fascist run network for another is just asking for more of the same

   • Embed this notice
     Nalyd620 (nalyd620@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 02:26:10 JST Nalyd620

     • Stefan Bohacek

     @_elena @stefan

     I have been reading this comments on this thread and I jump between both platforms. At this point, I really don't care who sees if I block them. Honestly, most of them are horrible. Mastodon to me, is a calm space and yes, Bluesky is a bit overwhelming and I was never on Twitter.

   • Embed this notice
     Feeding America (feedingamerica@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 06:12:01 JST Feeding America

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber Thank you for reaching out to Catholic Charities USA. We are honored to be of service to you. Our mission is to offer compassionate support, resources, and a helping hand to individuals and families facing challenges in their lives. Whether you're seeking assistance with basic needs, guidance, or community services, we are here to walk with you every step of the way.

   • Embed this notice
     Wossen Wyatt 🇬🇾🐧💿💾 (wossman@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 06:55:33 JST Wossen Wyatt 🇬🇾🐧💿💾

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber I'm not surprised. They seem to make a big deal about the openness of their data. It almost makes you wish they were selling it. At least the audience would be smaller.

     But... What I have noticed is that if someone follows you and you block them, they disappear from the list of your followers, BUT your follower count doesn't decrease. I found that odd.

   • Embed this notice
     trickery (trickery@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 06:58:59 JST trickery

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber But they make no secret of it:

   • Embed this notice
     Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀 (cwebber@social.coop)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 07:20:20 JST Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     in reply to

     • Amandine

     @eco_amandine @_elena There's a difference between consenting to sharing a blocking list to it being openly queryable information whether you like it or not

   • Embed this notice
     Amandine (eco_amandine@mastodon.cr)'s status on Tuesday, 26-Nov-2024 07:20:21 JST Amandine

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber I'm not there and I enjoy Mastodon but I don't get why is that bad. It allows to share blocking lists, which I think could be something good.

   • Embed this notice
     Darnell Clayton :verified: (darnell@one.darnell.one)'s status on Friday, 29-Nov-2024 02:10:45 JST Darnell Clayton :verified:

     in reply to

     • Evan Prodromou
     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @evan @cwebber Thanks for alerting everyone about this!

     The only reason I do not publish my public block list on #Mastodon is that it requires extra time & energy typing in the explanation.

     If someone sees my block list on #Bluesky, then it will not bother me, as I am barely on Bluesky at all.

   • Embed this notice
     Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀 (cwebber@social.coop)'s status on Friday, 29-Nov-2024 03:45:58 JST Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     in reply to

     • ruisan

     @ruisan @_elena Well, Block does something else: it informs your server the user should not be listed in your replies, which is important when people are harassing you. (Ask me how I know!)

   • Embed this notice
     ruisan (ruisan@masto.es)'s status on Friday, 29-Nov-2024 03:45:59 JST ruisan

     in reply to

     • Christine Lemmer-Webber 🌀

     @_elena @cwebber I was about to ask why is this important but reading the interactions to this toot I found that people consider blocks much more important than I do. In any case I don't really see why is this a problem when there is an alternative mechanism like mute, that is not public.