Bluesky's ATProto and the race to the bottom of the brain stem

The ATProto (the federation protocol on which Bluesky is built) may inadvertently worsen online discourse through bad commercial incentives.

In a federated system where users can easily switch platforms with their social graphs intact, platforms will compete for users/eyeballs by optimising for engagement rather than quality content. The outcome may be that "responsible" platforms that moderate well become small, irrelevant echo chambers, while platforms that embrace sensational, low-quality content grow rapidly and dominate public discourse.