Bluesky and Mastodon users are arguing about how to connect two decentralized social networks, and whether it is even necessary. This conflict could affect the future of the Internet.
Mastodon is the most famous decentralized social application today. Mastodon exploded in size last year as people sought an alternative to Elon Musk's Twitter, and now has 8.7 million users. Bluesky opened to the general public last week, adding 1.5 million users in a matter of days, bringing its total to 4.8 million users.
Bluesky is on the verge of federalizing its AT protocol, which means anyone can set up a server and create their own social network using open source software. Each individual server will be able to communicate with others, requiring the user to have only one account on all social networks on that protocol. But Mastodon uses a different protocol called ActivityPub, which means Bluesky and Mastodon users cannot communicate with each other, TechCrunch reports.
Turns out some Mastodon users like it. Software developer Ryan Barrett found this out the hard way when he decided to connect the AT protocol and ActivityPub using a bridge called Bridgy Fed.
Python course. This programming varies from basic concepts to complex concepts in the spheres of individual intelligence. After completing the course, you are guaranteed to get a job in IT. More about the course
Barrett has no affiliation with Mastodon or Bluesky, but since the protocols are open source, any third party developer can build on the existing code. With the federalization of Bluesky approaching, some Mastodon users learned of Barrett's project and attacked him.
Barrett planned to make the bridge enabled by default, meaning Mastodon's public posts could appear on Bluesky without the author's knowledge, and vice versa. The developer has been working on projects like Bridgy for the past 12 years, but he has never experienced such a strong reaction to his work.
Already, the most ardent users of Mastodon and Bluesky are acting as warring factions in the war for the open Internet. But as decentralized social networks become more popular, the way these ecosystems on different protocols interact with each other could set the stage for the next era of the Internet.
Mastodon supporters were initially skeptical of Bluesky. The appeal of Mastodon as a nonprofit is that, unlike Instagram, Twitter or YouTube, it is not controlled by large corporations that need to keep their investors happy. But in its early stages, Bluesky was a Twitter project funded by the company's co-founder and former CEO Jack Dorsey. Bluesky is now a separate company, completely separate from Twitter. Although Dorsey sits on its board of directors, he has shown much more interest in Nostr, another decentralized protocol that he has supported.
For Mastodon users, Dorsey's participation was the first unpleasant moment. The second came when Bluesky decided to create its own protocol instead of using an existing one like ActivityPub.
Ideological issues surrounding Bridgy Fed will likely continue to create tension between these social networks. Meta's Threads app plans to become compatible with ActivityPub networks such as Mastodon soon. Flipboard and Automattic, owners of WordPress.com and Tumblr, are also betting on ActivityPub. For Mastodon users who want to remain isolated from traditional social networks, these connections to other platforms—especially Threads, which has 130 million active users—may pose a greater threat than the Bluesky bridge.
Join the ITS Authors Contest! Win cool prizes from our partners Logitech – professional gaming steering wheel and low-profile gaming keyboards.