# A Post.cv Alumni's guide to Bluesky %% Put your actual draft between this comment and the '\%\%' symbols at the bottom %% Joining Bluesky is a little bit like loading an old save of 2018 Twitter. Still a little toxic but not quite the slide into a dystopian hellscape that X has become. The biggest difference is there is *a lot more* user control. I want this guide to be short so here are the highlights: ## tldr; - [ ] Sign up for [Bluesky](https://bsky.app) - [ ] Add your profile photo, bio, and optional cover photo - [ ] (optional) change your bluesky handle to your own domain name - [ ] Pin the [Posts.cv Alumni](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/feed/aaahltvlqwftc) feed to your home - [ ] get [added as a contributor](https://forms.gle/KF4U3Q8dLn6hCiYL6) to that feed - [ ] get added to the alumni [Starterpack](https://bsky.app/starter-pack/ssbittle.com/3lfxrtsnxj42h) - [ ] Write your first bluesky post by doing an intro and pinning that to your profile ## Feeds There is no single algorithmic feed! if you just want a single chronological follow feed, you can have that. Once you're signed in, you can completely change what feeds show up in your app ([feed settings here](https://bsky.app/feeds))[^customFeeds] ### **There is a dedicated feed of Posts.cv users on Bluesky** You can ==pin that feed to your home here: [**Posts.cv Alumni Feed**](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/feed/aaahltvlqwftc)==.[^otherFeeds] I want to make sure that everyone explicitly opts-in to being included to this feed and I want to keep it away from spammers so to get added to the feed yourself, please [send me your bluesky handle via this form](https://forms.gle/jMs8hvRbiYH9ApUG8). Curious to see if you’ve been added yet? Check the [Alumni list 🎓](https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tft77e5qkblxtneeib4lp3zk/lists/3lfxk4veyyr2m) ## Starterpacks™ Instead of joining Bluesky with no one to follow these are curated lists of users that you can follow by clicking a single "follow all" button. [Spencer Bittle](https://bsky.app/profile/ssbittle.com) has done a great job maintaining a list of people that have since moved from Posts to Bluesky. If you want to quickly _follow everyone_ who's moved from Posts to Bluesky, you can find [Spencer's Post Alumni List here](https://bsky.app/starter-pack/ssbittle.com/3lfxrtsnxj42h). ==If Spencer hasn't already added you to that list, **[you can shoot him a DM on Bluesky!](https://bsky.app/profile/ssbittle.com)**== ## Fill out your profile! There's definitely been a bot problem that has intensified in the last few weeks here. Make sure people know you're real and what you're about! The moment you sign up, try to add all of this (in order of importance): 1. **profile photo** 2. **bio** (you can add links to your bio!) 3. **a first post**, here are some suggestions: - name - location - occupation - the stuff you post about 4. Pin that first post! 5. If you do that, [comment here](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/post/3lfzuuppttc2l) linking to your post and I'll get around to reposting you to get some eyes ### domains as usernames?? you don't _have_ to have your username be `something.bsky.social`, you can actually make your website your username! [Bluesky has a better guide than I can write on this here](https://bsky.social/about/blog/4-28-2023-domain-handle-tutorial). If you have a hard time with this though or it's overwhelming, feel free to [DM me on bluesky](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land). #### ==update==: Set your username to name.posts.cv [Andy](https://bsky.app/profile/andy.posts.cv/post/3lg2qz7cxpc2x) added the ability to set `username.posts.cv` as your Bluesky username! To do that, you'll need your account [DID](https://atproto.com/specs/did). Here's how to do it: 1. Head on over to your [Bluesky settings page](https://bsky.app/settings/account) 2. select "handle" and then "*I have my own domain*" 3. set the "domain you want to use" to [yourpostsusername].posts.cv 4. select "No DNS Panel" 5. Copy your DID that looks like this: `did=did:plc:…` 6. From there, you can paste that into your settings at ==**Posts › Edit Profile › Account Settings › Bluesky DID**==. 7. Go back to bluesky and click verify 8. Once it says verified, click update! ==If you dont _also_ click update your handle wont change== ## Privacy Almost everything on Bluesky is technically public, even if it’s not visible via the app. Bluesky is built on top of [At Proto]([https://atproto.com](https://atproto.com/)) which means it’s an open platform that anyone can build with. Who you follow, who follows you, your lists, who you have blocked, DMs, your posts, etc are all publicly available. **Muting other users is private**. In `settings › privacy & security` there is a control to discourage your profile from being shown publicly to signed-out users and Bluesky respects this setting. It’s up to developers to support this control for third-party Bluesky apps. ## Moderation Like so many other Bluesky things, moderation is also very customizable. This is most exemplified by two main features: blocklists and labelers. These are things maintained not by the company Bluesky but by users themselves. As such, make sure you're considering how much you trust the person behind the blocklists or labelers, or at least trust the person advocating for their use. ### Blocklists These are just like lists, but they make it easy for other people to automatically mute all or block all accounts from that list. If the person maintaining that list adds/removes someone, this will also impact who you're muting/blocking until you unsubscribe.[^blocklists] I can be a petty person so I'm not advocating you use this list, but here's an example of a [blocklist I've made for myself](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/lists/3lauznu5cji2t). ### Labelers This is one of the coolest features Bluesky has. Labels are a thing you can subscribe to that… basically labels stuff. This can be a moderation thing or just for fun. Either individual posts (I think?) or entire accounts. This can be automatically labeled through some coding wizardry, opted-in through some interaction method like liking a certain post or subscribing, or manually maintained by a third-party moderation team. It really just depends on what the label-maker decides and how they build it! For many of these labelers, you can actually report content directly to it instead of reporting just to the Bluesky team themselves. **Here's a list of labelers that *I* have put my trust in:** - [Blacksky Moderation](https://bsky.app/profile/blacksky.app) - Labels accounts/posts for anti-black harassment and/or misogynoir - [Jesse Singal Watch](https://bsky.app/profile/singal.shame.wtf) - labels (or hides) users that follow Jesse Singal, a known harasser and transphobe - [Verified by Tom™](https://bsky.app/profile/verified.moll.blue) - adds an old-school twitter verified badge for anyone that also subscribes. It's just a fun vanity thing, not real verification. - [US Gov't Contributions](https://bsky.app/profile/us-gov-funding.bsky.social) - Labels US politicians with info about industries that have donated to them - [Private School Labeler](https://bsky.app/profile/daddys.cash) - adds a label to UK media and politician people with the private school they attended (and their tuition), among other things - [Skywatch Blue](https://bsky.app/profile/skywatch.blue)- I *think* this is the most popular labeler and it does too many things to list here. You have complete granular control for how it works for you though. - [US Politics Labeler](https://bsky.app/profile/uspol.bluesky.bot) - labels various US politics topics so you can get warned before reading it or outright hide it. - [Spoiler Droid](https://bsky.app/profile/mod.shawn.party) - attempts to warn/hide posts that might spoil popular media before you see it. (I really hope this works with Severance 😩) - [Phobia Labeler](https://bsky.app/profile/phobial.mastod.one) - Arachnophobic like me? spiders-be-gone (and other phobias too) - [Kronos, time zone labeler](https://bsky.app/profile/khronos.world) - opt-in to your timezone to let other users of this labeler know what time zone you're in - [Profile Labeller](https://bsky.app/profile/profile-labels.bossett.social) - labels accounts on things like "recently changed username" or "missing a profile photo" (hide or warn) - [AI imagery labeler](https://bsky.app/profile/aimod.social) - labels images as possibly being AI when appropriate. - [Art Theft](https://bsky.app/profile/arttheft.bsky.social) - labels accounts that just repost other peoples work without attribution - [Pronouns](https://bsky.app/profile/pronouns.adorable.mom) - Add your pronouns to your profile for other users of this labeler - [XBlock](https://bsky.app/profile/xblock.aendra.dev) - Labels posts that include screenshots from other social networks like Threads or Twitter [^otherfeeds]: I have a few other feeds if you're curious, including a [Coffee Nerds Feed](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/feed/aaaceoilhu4a2), a [feed of Testflight links](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/feed/aaacjxhd5enya), and a [weekly top 50 apple music playlists](https://bsky.app/profile/taurean.bryant.land/feed/aaaddvc6wnyym) feed sorted by popularity. [^customFeeds]: Once you've gotten your feet wet, you can even go about making your own feeds via code or by using GUI tools like [Skyfeed](http://skyfeed.app) or [Graze](https://www.graze.social). In fact, the other feeds of mine that I linked to were made with skyfeed! [^blocklists]: I think Starterpacks also work this way, but I'm not certain. %% --- ## Private notes: - [x] Joining the feed - [x] starter packs & getting added - [x] make your introduction - [x] feeds - [x] moderation - [x] blocklists - [ ] labelers