Social media platforms face many challenges in creating a safe and inclusive environment for their users. Bluesky, a groundbreaking platform that aims to redefine social networking, has made content moderation and user reporting tools a key focus of its development. The latest updates from Bluesky showcase its progress in transforming how users interact and maintain a secure online community.

The recent improvements in content moderation and user reporting tools represent a crucial step in its evolution, as it seeks to establish new benchmarks for safety and accountability across social media platforms. In this article, we will explore how Bluesky is developing content moderation and user reporting tools that can address the challenges of online harassment, misinformation, and censorship.

What is BlueSky?

Bluesky is a name that may not ring a bell for you unless you are a tech enthusiast. It is a new social media platform that emerged from Twitter in 2019, but only became a separate entity with its own staff in 2021. It started to gain some public attention when it launched its iOS app in February 2023. Since then, it has been gradually attracting more users as a possible alternative to Twitter, and with the release of its Android app in April 2023, it has begun to receive some serious recognition.

Bluesky was created by Jack Dorsey, the former CEO of Twitter, who wanted to build a decentralized and open platform that can enable more innovation, transparency, and control for users and communities. Bluesky uses a protocol called AT Protocol, which allows users to create and join different servers, each with their own rules and moderation policies.. Bluesky is currently in beta and invite-only, meaning you need an invite code from another user or from the waitlist to join. 

Updates on Content Moderation and User Reporting Tools

Content moderation is a necessary feature of social spaces. It’s how bad behavior gets constrained, norms get set, and disputes get resolved. However, content moderation is also a complex and controversial issue, as different users and communities may have different expectations, values, and preferences. Bluesky has recently announced some new updates on its content moderation and user reporting tools, which are designed to enhance user safety and agency. These updates include:

• Automated moderation tools: Bluesky has launched “more advanced automated tooling” that can flag content that violates its Community Guidelines. The flagged content can then be reviewed by Bluesky’s moderation team to make a final determination. Bluesky says it will iterate on this so that moderators can review offensive content, spam, etc. without any user seeing it first.
• User reporting tools: Bluesky has also added the ability for users to report their own posts for mislabeled content to help the moderation team fix incorrect labels. Users can also report other users’ posts for wrong labels, abusive content, or spam. Bluesky says it will add more reporting options in the future.
• User lists: Bluesky has introduced user lists, which are generic lists of users that can be created and managed by anyone. Users can add or remove users from their lists, and share their lists with others. User lists can be used for various purposes, such as following, blocking, muting, or filtering.
• Moderation lists: Bluesky has also introduced moderation lists, which are special user lists that can be used to mute or block many users at once. Users can create their own moderation lists, or subscribe to moderation lists created by others. Moderation lists can help users avoid unwanted content or interactions from certain users or groups.
• Reply controls: Bluesky has also added reply controls, which allow users to control who can respond to their posts. Users can choose to limit replies to only people they follow, users on a certain list, or everyone. Reply controls can help users have more meaningful and respectful conversations, and avoid trolls and harassers

How Does Bluesky Work?

Bluesky works on an open-source technology called Authenticated Transfer (AT). Users will be able to customise their experiences using the AT protocol by selecting interests of their choice. With Bluesky’s AT, users can communicate with anyone on any app or service that uses the same protocol. This means that users can talk to each other across different platforms and services. AT also allows users to switch their accounts from one service provider to another without losing any data or connections.

Bluesky functions in a similar way to most social networks and text-based apps. At its core, you have a profile, follow other users, and start conversations.But Bluesky differs from its predecessor and other social platforms in a few key ways. For starters, the app is currently invite-only, meaning you must receive an invite code from another user to join, its because they want to limit the number of sign-ups from spammers, bots, or bad actors. This selective process helps Bluesky curate and moderate content as it scales. Plus, limiting sign-ups helps the platform grow organically through existing personal networks. You can also sign up for Bluesky’s waitlist for a code.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Bluesky is a decentralized social network that aims to provide users with more control and choice over their online experience. The recent changes in Bluesky bring big improvements to how we manage stuff online. With better tools for reporting, everyone gets more power to keep things safe and respectful.

It’s not just about stopping bad stuff—it’s also about making sure everyone feels welcome in the online world. The article discusses some of the new features and tools that Bluesky is developing to enhance content moderation and safety capabilities Automated moderation tools, User reporting tools, User lists, Content Moderation lists and Reply controls.