I’m enjoying Bluesky quite a lot. Here’s my profile, in case you’re on Bluesky and want to follow me. With few exceptions, I limit my posts there to music, silent film, and an occasional bit of humor or trivia. I intentionally avoid most political discussion, because I like to relax there. But Bluesky has developed the inevitable echo chambers, and I avoid following accounts that veer into hostility and mockery.

Bluesky offers lots of moderation tools at the personal level. You can use the content filters and the optional Bluesky moderation service, which are found under the Moderation category of your settings. Remember that any system-wide moderation system will make mistakes, blocking harmless material or letting disgusting stuff through. Having user-controlled moderation frees the staff to deal with the worst offenders, as opposed to content that others just find annoying.

Users can create moderation lists. These are lists of users which others can use to mute or block accounts that the list creator thinks are best avoided. That’s helpful but has its risks. You can use a moderation list selectively, for confirmation that someone else thinks certain users are nuisances. You can block or mute the whole list, but then you’re delegating your decision to someone else.

Some moderation lists have nothing to do with abusive behavior. I’ve run into one that tries to list everyone who supports a certain political candidate. This list is said to be very popular, and some people use it for blanket blocking. That means they’re blocking people simply for the position they hold, not because they’re annoying anyone else with it. In effect, these people have decided that they don’t want to see any expressions of that opinion, and (if they block rather than mute) they don’t want people who hold that opinion to see their posts.

They’re sticking their fingers in their ears.

There are people I don’t want to hear from. They may be incoherent or rude or too verbose about topics that don’t interest me. If it’s no worse than that, they could still learn something from me. Muting is usually enough for them. To qualify for blocking, they have to be seriously offensive or dishonest. Intentionally misrepresenting something I’ve said is a good way to get a block from me. So is calling for broad censorship, applauding non-defensive violence, or seeking the destruction of capitalism. I do it selectively, one account at a time, based on my own experience.

Blocking has broad effects. According to the documentation, “Blocked accounts will not be able to like, reply, mention, or follow you. Their posts, replies, and profile in search will also be hidden from you.” This means you can’t see what they’re up to, which may be a disadvantage. At the same time, blocking isn’t absolute protection; someone who’s determined to see what you post publicly can do it without much trouble.

Keep in mind that I’m writing as someone who doesn’t have huge visibility on Bluesky. My account, at the moment I’m writing this sentence, has 175 followers. If thousands of people read your posts, you’re probably fighting a constant battle against trolls and worse. Congratulations on your following, and I’m not going to say what you need to do to hold off the barbarians at the gates.

Even people without a large following can be mob targets. If you’re in that situation, your first priority is your peace of mind, even if that means blocking some accounts by mistake. I’m writing about more normal circumstances.

Moderation lists of serious offenders such as troll brigades, scammers, and impersonators can be useful, but always remember you’re putting your trust in whoever created the list. Am I on someone’s moderation list somewhere? It’s possible. Anyone can create one. On one occasion, I found myself blocked by someone I’d never heard of before. It would be pointless to guess why.

A lot of people are determined that they should never hear anything from anyone who doesn’t share their views. Bluesky isn’t unique or even very distinctive in this regard. I just wish people would spend a little more time looking at positions and arguments they disagree with. If nothing else, they’d be better equipped to rebut those views.

Bluesky gives you a lot of control over your feed. Use it wisely.

Update: Barely a couple of seconds after I linked to this post on Bluesky, too fast to have read it, I got a “like” from a “Kiwi Farms” account, with a profile description of “We are coming for you.” I blocked that account immediately. Don’t let anything I’ve said discourage you from blocking obviously vile accounts.

Update 2: Debbie Ohi has a guide to managing your Bluesky moderation.