An important PSA for people who are active on #Bluesky and who, upon hearing that the ICE account was officially verified, are saying: "I will just block it."
Blocking on Bluesky is NOT PRIVATE: it's very easy to see who is blocking any account by visiting sites that list that information.
I took a screenshot from https://clearsky.app, listing all the accounts that are blocking ICE (I pixelated avatars and usernames for privacy purposes).
The safest bet is to mute (that info is private) 😫
@_elena the best bet is to delete bluesky.
@donhawkins I would recommend keeping the account inactive / deleting the app instead to avoid username squatting.
I learned the hard way with X - I used Twitter for 14 years and just mere days after deleting 3 accounts, my usernames were immediately seized 😭
@_elena I had one Birdsite account, deleted it, never revisited … why should I care if the account name is reused over there now?
@donhawkins the risk of impersonation
@_elena Ahh, yes. Gotcha. Personally, not a major concern. Anticipated from the start & easily managed.
@_elena Really sorry and disappointed that so many still stay on that shitty platform. Jack Dorsey's a shitbag Nazi fellater just like Musk Zuck all of them.
@_elena I am staying here. No Stasi, no Nazis, no AfD, no ICE, no DHS, no CDU, no CCP….problem solved.
@_elena If you're outside the United States, make sure to write to your politicians to tell them you don't want your nation's security and immigration working with ICE! Wearing masks and shooting innocent civilians, threatening violence and terrorising the general population, these are not the behaviors of a legitimate law enforcement agency.
@_elena
It's weird that one's blocks are visible on Bluesky. However, what's so bad if ICE knows one has blocked them?
@sloanlance not just ICE but also 4Chan-minded bad actors that may harass users blocking gov accounts
@_elena
Ok. Makes sense, I guess. It's good to know the risks.
PS: I remember the days when 4Chan was just silly crap.
@_elena we have ice and we have social media snobs, larping like they're there, IRL making a difference.
Might as well be one and the same for how effective it is.
@_elena can we call it brownshirtsky now?
I'm well aware that posting this info on the Fediverse seems like a pointless exercise, but it's to raise awareness and spread the word to people active in BOTH places.
I was never really active on #Bluesky and entirely stopped using it months ago but there's no point in posting this info there because I have zero reach. Or rather: 1100+ followers and 1-2 likes (at best!) and zero comments for any post. It's like I'm shadow-banned.
If you use it and enjoy it no judgement but please be safe!
@_elena There are many more companies, institutions, news outlets, YouTubers etc. there then here. For example, several EU institutions and politicians are pretty active there. So, I have a few lists and use it as sort of a reader to check the latest news and other information once or twice a day. Mastodon is where I follow and interact with real people, which is what I really enjoy here.
BSky is:
- centralized
- US based
- owned by a mini-big-tech-bro
Just forget it and let’s focus on the good things in life.
@_elena Great advice ❤️
