Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky • Hacker News Board

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#701

Post by insane_dreamer » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:46 PM UTC

newsclues wrote: post #15

People still aren't CHOOSING to leave Twitter/X.

I did. No regrets.

I'm on Mastodon and Bluesky but rarely visit -- not sure I need that kind of network after all. I don't feel any loss of value after closing my Twitter/X account, and am glad to have the time back.

I've basically narrowed my use down to two networks that I visit regularly:

IG (private account) for photos of friends/family and some interesting strangers. I keep my follow list quite short, and unfollow liberally if I feel I'm not getting anything out of the content anymore. But lately the sponsored and ad content feels like 5-to-1 vs my actual follow content. If my family didn't use it to see pics of my kids then I'd close it.

HN: the only reason HN works is that it's not centered around "following" people (like every other network), which then becomes a race to get more "followers" which becomes some sort of currency. I saw this happening with Quora in its early days where after a promising start and really interesting content/replies by actual experts, it turned into a little attention-seeking groupie club--that's when I closed my account.

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#702

Post by [deleted] » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:49 PM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #70

I left Xitter about 6 weeks ago and went all in on Bluesky. Took time to give feedback to the algo, but it's doing much better these days. I don't feel like I'm missing out on much, you'll get the same news & events on Bluesky. A lot of people who were scared of losing their following are reporting more, better engagement with lower follower counts. What I really like about it is the ATProto, which while imperfect, s…

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Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#703

Post by krisboyz781 » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:50 PM UTC

throwaway48476 wrote: post #191

mlindner wrote: post #135

This is all very unfortunate. It's sad to see liberalism dying in Brazil in real time. The very little reported thing is that this judge also installed a fine of something like $8000 per month (more than double the top percentile salary) for anyone using a VPN and also demanded that Apple and Google remove X and any VPNs from their app stores. Brazil is rapidly turning into a police state.

*back into a police state Unfortunately western countries are no longer willing to set a good example to encourage developing countries to follow.

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Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#704

Post by supermatt » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

verdverm wrote: post #70

I left Xitter about 6 weeks ago and went all in on Bluesky. Took time to give feedback to the algo, but it's doing much better these days. I don't feel like I'm missing out on much, you'll get the same news & events on Bluesky. A lot of people who were scared of losing their following are reporting more, better engagement with lower follower counts. What I really like about it is the ATProto, which while imperfect, s…

> What I really like about it is the ATProto… DID, etc

Is the PLC DID (the one all bluesy accounts use) still hardcoded to a single centralised provider?

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#705

Post by krisboyz781 » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

ikmckenz wrote: post #303

throwadobe wrote: post #162

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Freedom of speech is a general conception of human rights, not any one particular law. Governments can choose to respect (or not!) those rights, but the idea applies to everyone.

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Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#706

Post by blackeyeblitzar » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

Maken wrote: post #690

seydor wrote: post #349

So what can brazil do to shut down Bluesky if it starts hosting the same illegal accounts?

Maybe Blursky will comply with local legislation?

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Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#707

Post by avsteele » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:51 PM UTC

nickpsecurity wrote: post #7

One of the linked articles said it boiled down to X being ordered to censor political opponents of those in power. They chose not to. I’m glad. Now, traffic is going to Bluesky. I wonder if this means that Bluesky has or will be offered the same choice. We might see what the character of that organization is by what choice they make.

At this point, I'm only mildly surprised by the pro-censorship sentiments which are prevalent here at HN. Still, for those with an open mind...

Read the NY times article; it is not amazing well done but serves to show how unaccountable the orders of the judge are.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/31/world/americas/brazil-x-b...

Then read the orders from the judge (as claimed by X). "Secretly ban this sitting senator within a few hours"

https://x.com/AlexandreFiles/status/1829979981130416479/phot...

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#708

Post by thaumasiotes » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:52 PM UTC

UberFly wrote: post #359

thaumasiotes wrote: post #282

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Back in 2020, an acquaintance of mine started ranting to me about covid when I wished her a happy Chinese new year. She was at pains to point out that she got her information from unofficial sources.

This makes very little sense.

It's a demonstration by example of exactly the effect described in my parent comment. What part of it didn't make sense?

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#709

Post by insane_dreamer » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:53 PM UTC

throwadobe wrote: post #250

nickpsecurity wrote: post #7

One of the linked articles said it boiled down to X being ordered to censor political opponents of those in power. They chose not to. I’m glad. Now, traffic is going to Bluesky. I wonder if this means that Bluesky has or will be offered the same choice. We might see what the character of that organization is by what choice they make.

It boiled down to X not taking down accounts associated with individuals with outstanding warrants who were inciting violence. Brazilian law requires X to do so.

The problem with Elon is that he's decided to pick and choose which countries he will comply with local legislation on, and which ones he won't. So India, Turkey, he did. Brazil, he didn't.

Maybe the Supreme Court in Brazil is "wrong" and "corrupt" where legislators in India and Turkey are not, but knowing a fair bit about all three countries, I doubt very much that to be the case. So then it's a business decision -- or more like a "whatever pisses Elon off" decision, which in the end is just as "corrupt" as your typical corrupt dictator who acts on whatever pisses them off.

Re: Brazil's X ban is sending lots of people to Bluesky

#710

Post by krisboyz781 » Sun, Sep 01, 2024, 4:53 PM UTC

bad_user wrote: post #572

sweeter wrote: post #428

Earlier quoted context omitted.

theres no absolute free speech in the US. There are most certainly plenty of things you cannot say and protestors are often violently silenced by police and riot squads. Then the media upholds its end of the bargain by heavily re-enforcing the State Dept. position while besmirching the message of the protestors and misrepresenting them in any and every way imaginable. You can say a lot of awful shit, but you really c…

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