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There has been a lot discussion about whether Bluesky is truly capable of being decentralized or not, especially considering the costs of replicating some of the centralized services that Bluesky offers. That is a valid question that is subject to debate. Technically it can be decentralized, but so far hasn't been... for a variety of reasons.

I think that Bluesky and the Fediverse look at things very differently.

When the Fediverse looks at decentralization, they think of servers and platforms that could be run by individuals or small communities. Decentralized to the level of the individual. And the fediverse community seems to be adverse to large instances, as seen by many complaints that certain Mastodon instances are becoming too large.

But Bluesky is looking at the organization level. In other words, could another large organization create another competing Twitter on the AT Protocol? Or could some organization create a Facebook or TikTok equivalent on the AT Protocol?  Basically the concept of having the equivalents of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok all being able to talk to one another, all run by different organizations, not individuals.

Basically, how the AT Protocol becomes decentralized is when some organization creates a TikTok equivalent that uses AT Protocol, as an example, and they create their own AT Protocol stack to support it. One billionaire recently offered money to anyone who would build one.

So we are talking about different levels of decentralization here: the organizational level or the individual level.

I don't think these camps will ever agree on what decentralization means since they look at things very differently. Luckily these protocols can be bridged, and some platforms are multi-protocol, which would allow people to choose the level of decentralization they want.

#fediverse #bluesky #activitypub #atproto #atprotocol
loves.techLoves Tech
There has been a lot discussion about whether Bluesky is truly capable of being decentralized or not, especially considering the costs of replicating some of the centralized services that Bluesky offers. That is a valid question that is subject to debate. Technically it can be decentralized, but so far hasn't been... for a variety of reasons.

I think that Bluesky and the Fediverse look at things very differently.

When the Fediverse looks at decentralization, they think of servers and platforms that could be run by individuals or small communities. Decentralized to the level of the individual. And the fediverse community seems to be adverse to large instances, as seen by many complaints that certain Mastodon instances are becoming too large.

But Bluesky is looking at the organization level. In other words, could another large organization create another competing Twitter on the AT Protocol? Or could some organization create a Facebook or TikTok equivalent on the AT Protocol?  Basically the concept of having the equivalents of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok all being able to talk to one another, all run by different organizations, not individuals.

Basically, how the AT Protocol becomes decentralized is when some organization creates a TikTok equivalent that uses AT Protocol, as an example, and they create their own AT Protocol stack to support it. One billionaire recently offered money to anyone who would build one.

So we are talking about different levels of decentralization here: the organizational level or the individual level.

I don't think these camps will ever agree on what decentralization means since they look at things very differently. Luckily these protocols can be bridged, and some platforms are multi-protocol, which would allow people to choose the level of decentralization they want.

#fediverse #bluesky #activitypub #atproto #atprotocol
authorship.studioAuthorship Studio

Destroying Autocracy – 27 March 2025

Welcome to this week’s “Destroying Autocracy”.

It’s your source for curated news affecting democracy in the cyber arena with a focus on protecting it. That necessitates an opinionated Butlerian jihad against big tech as well as evangelizing for open-source and the Fediverse. Since big media’s journalism wing is flailing and failing in its core duty to democracy, this is also a collection of alternative reporting on the eternal battle between autocracy and democracy. We also cover the cybersecurity world. You can’t be free without safety and privacy.

DA comes out on Thursday and is updated through the end of day on Friday. Then we start over. So take your time in perusing it and check back in over the weekend.

FYI, my opinions will be in bold. And will often involve cursing. Because humans. Especially tech bros. And fascists. Fuck ’em.

Featured Item

The Register reports:

EU OS is a proposal for an immutable KDE-based Linux distribution with a Windows-like desktop, designed for use in European public-sector organizations.

Rather than a new distro, it’s a website that documents planning such a thing, what functions the OS might need, how to deploy and manage it, and how to handle users.

EU OS drafts a locked-down Linux blueprint for Eurocrats

This needs to be implemented quickly and then exported to non-EU, non-fascist states as well.

We start and end with good news to make the middle bearable.

The response to Russia’s War Crimes and other douchebaggery

The Kyiv Independent reports:

Italy suspends Starlink purchase negotiations with SpaceX amid Musk controversy

Voice of America journalists sue Trump administration following president’s order to gut free press

The Register reports:

OTF, which backs Tor, Let’s Encrypt and more, sues to save funding from Trump cuts

US defense contractor cops to sloppy security, settles after infosec lead blows whistle

Wired reports:

How to Avoid US-Based Digital Services—and Why You Might Want To

Trump’s Aggression Sours Europe on US Cloud Giants

MIT Technology Review reports on:

Why the world is looking to ditch US AI models

In news sure to make Cory Doctorow happy, Tech Policy reports:

Interoperability in the EU: A Judgment Opens the Door

NPR reports:

As the Trump administration purges web pages, this group is rushing to save them

California announces:

Attorney General Bonta Urgently Issues Consumer Alert for 23andMe Customers

404 Media reports:

Mozilla Foundation Calls on Tech Industry to Block ICE Contractor

The Guardian reports:

A French university is offering ‘scientific asylum’ for US talent. The brain drain has started

The Huffington Post reports:

Pete Hegseth Sued Over Signal Text Debacle

The Kyiv Post reports:

First Surveillance Satellite of Planned Czechia-Ukrainian Constellation in Orbit

The Kyiv Independent reports:

’89 hours of non-stop work’ — Ukrainian Railways’ battle against a cyberattack by ‘the enemy’

TechCrunch reports:

Open source devs are fighting AI crawlers with cleverness and vengeance

The Reader makes:

The Anti-Capitalist Case for Standards

Neutral

Tech Policy has:

Scientists Respond to FTC Inquiry into Tech Censorship

The Evil Empire Strikes Back

The Verge asks:

Is it safe to travel with your phone right now?

It’s not safe to travel to the U.S. period. Or even within it by air.

DarkReading reports:

US Weakens Disinformation Defenses, as Russia & China Ramp Up

Heisse reports:

US-Behörde stoppt Gelder für Let’s Encrypt und Tor ‒ Open Tech Fund wehrt sich

Tech Policy reports on:

AI Surveillance on the Rise in US, but Tactics of Repression Not New

How the White House is Gaslighting the World About Europe’s Digital Laws

On a related note to The Guardian article above, Not a Tech Bro has:

Not invented here

Pariah States

BleepingComputer reports:

Cyberattack takes down Ukrainian state railway’s online services

DarkReading reports:

Meet the Low-Key Access Broker Supercharging Russian State Cybercrime

FCC Investigates China-Backed Tech Suppliers for Evading US Operations Ban

Iran’s MOIS-Linked APT34 Spies on Allies Iraq & Yemen

Big Media

America2 reports:

The Substack Dilemma: How Creators Are Inadvertently Fueling America’s Failure

Nothing personal but if you are on Substack, you’re a fascist or uninformed or an amoral c^nt.

Vanity Fair reports:

Trump’s Attacks on Press Freedom Are Paving the Way for Authoritarianism

The Washington Examiner reports:

Kari Lake withdraws cancellation of Radio Free Europe funding

Big Tech

Politico reports:

Musk’s X suspends opposition accounts in Turkey amid civil unrest

How surprising. Two set of c^nts work together.

MIT Technology Review reports:

Why handing over total control to AI agents would be a huge mistake

Tech Policy asks:

Will Ireland be Big Tech’s Lapdog Yet Again?

Blood in the Machine opines:

OpenAI’s Studio Ghibli meme factory is an insult to art itself

Smashing Frames calls it a:

Vulgar Display of Power

Cybersecurity/Privacy

The Register reports:

As nation-state hacking becomes ‘more in your face,’ are supply chains secure?

BleepingComputer reports:

New VanHelsing ransomware targets Windows, ARM, ESXi systems

TechCrunch reports:

How to tell if your online accounts have been hacked

404 Media reports:

When Your Threat Model Is Being a Moron

You Need to Use Signal’s Nickname Feature

The Verge reports:

Vivaldi bundles Proton VPN into its web browser

Fediverse

The Fediverse Report has:

Fediverse Report – #109

Arxiv has a research paper:

FediverseSharing: A Novel Dataset on Cross-Platform Interaction
Dynamics between Threads and Mastodon Users

Letterbook has a:

Development Update

Fedihost has some how to videos:

Creating A GoToSocial Instance on FediHost

Configuring A PeerTube Instance

Reset Digital for Good has:

Dezentrale YouTube-Alternative PeerTube: Nachhaltiger dank Peer-to-Peer?

Elena Rossini shares:

PeerTube: the Fediverse’s decentralized video platform (part 2: creator edition)

Other Slightly Federated Social Media

The Fediverse Report has:

ATmosphere Report – 2025march.b

TechCrunch reports:

A world without Caesars: How the ATProto community is rebuilding the web to return power to the people

Hmm. Are they really? They sure as fuck aren’t as social media. The web, let’s hope so.

Geekwire reports on:

The under-the-radar tech revolution that could change how the internet works

I think this is more accurate.

CTAs (aka show us some free love)

Keep fighting!

Ringleader, Battalion
Reuben Walker
Follow me on the Fediverse

#109 #ActivityPub #AI #ATProto #ATProtocol #Autocracy #BigJournalism #BigTech #Bluesky #Democracy #Fascism #Fediverse #GoToSocial #Mastodon #Peertube #Signal #StopChina #StopIran #StopIsrael #StopRedAmerica #StopRussia #SupportUkraine #Threads

battalion.mobileatom.net/?p=16

Das ist doch alles Blödsinn bis Betrug. Sie tun so, als würden sie nicht den einzigen Big Graph Service des Netzwerks betreiben (und andere wird es wahrscheinlich nie geben, weil zu kostenprohibitiv).

»But although #Bluesky is the largest app built on #ATProto at this time, the social network itself was not the ATmosphere Conference’s focus. Here, Bluesky was just another developer«

techcrunch.com/2025/03/25/a-wo

TechCrunch · A world without Caesars: How the ATProto community is rebuilding the web to return power to the people | TechCrunch
More from Sarah Perez 💙

One of a number of take-aways from #ATmosphereConf

The Bluesky team had a whole session (IndieSky) set up so that others could set up their own parallel Bluesky infrastructure.

The Bluesky team even wanted to make it less expensive for people to do it.

BUT — most the people in the room didn't seem interested in that per se.

Most the people in the room wanted their own ATProto infrastructure for their own applications / platforms built on ATProto.

I was looking into how a Bluesky PDS works from a programming point-of-view.

I came across this document the first time I looked around. (And then someone shared it with me again.)

github.com/bluesky-social/atpr

It gives you an overview, but not a list of API (NSID) end-points to implement.

The only resource I could find for that is this:

github.com/blacksky-algorithms

(You can infer it from the directory names and file names.)

One of a number of take-aways from #ATmosphereConf

Although there is only one Bluesky Firehose Relay of everything —

There are definitely other relays on the Bluesky ATmosphere.

I talked to more than one person who has their own relay on the Bluesky ATmosphere.

...

Although none of these alt-relays seemed to be meant to be broadly used by others. But, instead meant to be used for the platform they created using ATProto.

One of a number of take-aways from #ATmosphereConf

Bluesky might deal with their relay-problem by introducing an architecture that looks a lot like the Fediverse.

Rather than applications getting everything from the Firehose Relay — applications would get data directly from the PDSes.

Although, it wasn't quite clear when whether this would be 'pull' or 'push'.

But still, it is looking a lot more like the Fediverse's architecture at that point.