Ask HN: Bluesky Accounts Worth Following for HN Enthusiasts

I see a lot of people on Mastodon posting jokes about Twitter users moving to another centralised and venture capital-backed platform, like that "this time it will be different for sure!". I haven't read up on it myself so don't know what to think. Can someone burst my bubble on this?

Edit: saw a lot of valid responses, thanks! My question is answered and I might sign up on bsky as well if I get bored on Mastodon or want to connect with someone there :)

IMO Bluesky (really atproto) is decentralized along the axes that matter, while Mastodon is decentralized along the axes that don't. It's sort of a figure-ground inversion in thinking about a social media protocol so I think a lot of the criticism is coming from people who haven't taken any time to understand it.

It's an open protocol, but more like the www than email. You can port your identity to another host at any time. You can self host if you want. You have complete control over how your chosen feed algorithm aggregates posts from the firehose. If you want to make a competing service to Bluesky you can even do that, and it will still interoperate with all the Bluesky users.

Whereas with Mastodon, when you pick an instance you're essentially picking which benevolent dictator you want mediating your experience. Mastodon is decentralized in the sense that it breaks the platform up into smaller fiefdoms; Bluesky is decentralized in the sense that you retain control over your own experience.

Some recommended reading on Bluesky/atproto:

https://bsky.app/profile/laurenshof.online/post/3la5j3qgqvo2...

https://fediversereport.com/a-conceptual-model-of-atproto-an...

https://atproto.com/articles/atproto-for-distsys-engineers

https://atproto.com/guides/faq

> You can port your identity to another host at any time. You can self host if you want. You have complete control over how your chosen feed algorithm aggregates posts from the firehose. If you want to make a competing service to Bluesky you can even do that, and it will still interoperate with all the Bluesky users.

> Whereas with Mastodon, when you pick an instance you're essentially picking which benevolent dictator

Wait what? All of the benefits you mention for Bluesky apply equally to Mastodon (in both cases you can host your own thing if you like), and the latter (downside) applies to Bluesky when you sign up with the official server right? What's the difference you're pointing out?