spacecowboy
@spacecowboy17.bsky.social
Interests in ML and social aspects of tech.
Building For You feed: https://bsky.app/profile/spacecowboy17.bsky.social/feed/for-you
Hobby project: linklonk.com
Building For You feed: https://bsky.app/profile/spacecowboy17.bsky.social/feed/for-you
Hobby project: linklonk.com
For the last ~25 days I've been running an experiment on For You that gave more weight to "show less like this".
The results are:
-3.22% fewer "show less like this" (20,957 -> 20,282)
+17.24% more "show more like this" (4,083 -> 4,787)
+1.91% more likes (1,067,971 -> 1,088,331)
The results are:
-3.22% fewer "show less like this" (20,957 -> 20,282)
+17.24% more "show more like this" (4,083 -> 4,787)
+1.91% more likes (1,067,971 -> 1,088,331)
The next experiment will be giving more weight to the "show less like this" signal. Aka "nuclear show less like this".
November 13, 2025 at 1:33 AM
For the last ~25 days I've been running an experiment on For You that gave more weight to "show less like this".
The results are:
-3.22% fewer "show less like this" (20,957 -> 20,282)
+17.24% more "show more like this" (4,083 -> 4,787)
+1.91% more likes (1,067,971 -> 1,088,331)
The results are:
-3.22% fewer "show less like this" (20,957 -> 20,282)
+17.24% more "show more like this" (4,083 -> 4,787)
+1.91% more likes (1,067,971 -> 1,088,331)
How is this new "dislike" interaction going to be sent to custom feeds like For You?
Would it be a new interaction type like "app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionDislike" or the existing "app.bsky.feed.defs#requestLess"?
@internet.bsky.social
Would it be a new interaction type like "app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionDislike" or the existing "app.bsky.feed.defs#requestLess"?
@internet.bsky.social
Threads on Bluesky should feel more like conversations you’d have IRL.
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
We’re testing new systems to improve reply quality. See what’s coming: bsky.social/about/blog/1...
Progress Update: Building Healthier Social Media - Bluesky
Over the next few months, we’ll be iterating on the systems that make Bluesky a better place for healthy conversations. Some experiments will stick, others will evolve, and we’ll share what we learn a...
bsky.social
November 1, 2025 at 2:39 PM
How is this new "dislike" interaction going to be sent to custom feeds like For You?
Would it be a new interaction type like "app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionDislike" or the existing "app.bsky.feed.defs#requestLess"?
@internet.bsky.social
Would it be a new interaction type like "app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionDislike" or the existing "app.bsky.feed.defs#requestLess"?
@internet.bsky.social
I've seen a few people complain about For You being too good at surfacing people's alt accounts.
I think to solve this we can let people opt out their account posts from appearing in For You.
If you want your account posts to not appear on For You feel free to DM me with "remove me from For You".
I think to solve this we can let people opt out their account posts from appearing in For You.
If you want your account posts to not appear on For You feel free to DM me with "remove me from For You".
okay for you feed immediately doxed someone's alt to me 😭i think to do my part to help prevent this ill just not like posts from alts ever
October 28, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I've seen a few people complain about For You being too good at surfacing people's alt accounts.
I think to solve this we can let people opt out their account posts from appearing in For You.
If you want your account posts to not appear on For You feel free to DM me with "remove me from For You".
I think to solve this we can let people opt out their account posts from appearing in For You.
If you want your account posts to not appear on For You feel free to DM me with "remove me from For You".
For You now keeps better track of posts that you've seen. If you accidentally refresh it the post that was just there will be gone.
If you ever need to go back to the recommendations you've seen in For You - use this simple feed:
If you ever need to go back to the recommendations you've seen in For You - use this simple feed:
October 28, 2025 at 2:18 AM
For You now keeps better track of posts that you've seen. If you accidentally refresh it the post that was just there will be gone.
If you ever need to go back to the recommendations you've seen in For You - use this simple feed:
If you ever need to go back to the recommendations you've seen in For You - use this simple feed:
Indeed, I'm seeing a lot of app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionSeen in the For You logs!
With this change released I can clean up a bunch of hacks (based on scrolls and likes) I used to infer seen posts.
With this change released I can clean up a bunch of hacks (based on scrolls and likes) I used to infer seen posts.
Post seen status gets sent to 3rd party feeds now, so For You should show new posts on every refresh!
Everyone say thank you @danabra.mov
Everyone say thank you @danabra.mov
v1.109 is rolling out today! #NewProfilePic
We've given the app a mini makeover with some new shades of blues! Plus, a whole bunch of bug fixes and performance improvements to make your experience better.
We've given the app a mini makeover with some new shades of blues! Plus, a whole bunch of bug fixes and performance improvements to make your experience better.
October 27, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Indeed, I'm seeing a lot of app.bsky.feed.defs#interactionSeen in the For You logs!
With this change released I can clean up a bunch of hacks (based on scrolls and likes) I used to infer seen posts.
With this change released I can clean up a bunch of hacks (based on scrolls and likes) I used to infer seen posts.
Reposted by spacecowboy
What is between O(1) and O(N)? It is usually O(log(N)). This sounds like a tree. What if the sequence was represented as a tree? Each node has a fixed length vector, each leaf is a sequence element.
October 20, 2025 at 1:20 PM
What is between O(1) and O(N)? It is usually O(log(N)). This sounds like a tree. What if the sequence was represented as a tree? Each node has a fixed length vector, each leaf is a sequence element.
For You will be down for a few minutes.
I need to reboot the pc because Ubuntu updated nvidia drivers and I can no longer play games. That's one downside of serving the feed from your home pc.
I need to reboot the pc because Ubuntu updated nvidia drivers and I can no longer play games. That's one downside of serving the feed from your home pc.
October 19, 2025 at 5:04 PM
For You will be down for a few minutes.
I need to reboot the pc because Ubuntu updated nvidia drivers and I can no longer play games. That's one downside of serving the feed from your home pc.
I need to reboot the pc because Ubuntu updated nvidia drivers and I can no longer play games. That's one downside of serving the feed from your home pc.
I ran the below experiment for two weeks. The results at the user-level metrics are mostly neutral.
Slightly fewer users were pressing "less like this": -1.4% (not statistically significant)
Slightly fewer users were pressing "less like this": -1.4% (not statistically significant)
October 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
I ran the below experiment for two weeks. The results at the user-level metrics are mostly neutral.
Slightly fewer users were pressing "less like this": -1.4% (not statistically significant)
Slightly fewer users were pressing "less like this": -1.4% (not statistically significant)
Got oauth working and you can view someone's collections:
rankthat.net/profile/spac...
This is still a client-side webapp talking directly to PDS. No AppView.
rankthat.net/profile/spac...
This is still a client-side webapp talking directly to PDS. No AppView.
October 15, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Got oauth working and you can view someone's collections:
rankthat.net/profile/spac...
This is still a client-side webapp talking directly to PDS. No AppView.
rankthat.net/profile/spac...
This is still a client-side webapp talking directly to PDS. No AppView.
We now have the demo app write to the PDS when you login with an app password rankthat.net/login
All I needed to tell Claude was: "let's now do the heavy lifting and switch to real PDS storage"
Added my first item: pdsls.dev/at://did:plc...
All I needed to tell Claude was: "let's now do the heavy lifting and switch to real PDS storage"
Added my first item: pdsls.dev/at://did:plc...
October 13, 2025 at 12:42 AM
We now have the demo app write to the PDS when you login with an app password rankthat.net/login
All I needed to tell Claude was: "let's now do the heavy lifting and switch to real PDS storage"
Added my first item: pdsls.dev/at://did:plc...
All I needed to tell Claude was: "let's now do the heavy lifting and switch to real PDS storage"
Added my first item: pdsls.dev/at://did:plc...
I want to make an atproto app for creating collections of anything - create book shelves, rate movies, collect science papers, fictional character tier list, etc.
Before committing to a lexicon I want to understand what a good user experience would look like and then build the corresponding lexicon
Before committing to a lexicon I want to understand what a good user experience would look like and then build the corresponding lexicon
October 12, 2025 at 9:47 PM
I want to make an atproto app for creating collections of anything - create book shelves, rate movies, collect science papers, fictional character tier list, etc.
Before committing to a lexicon I want to understand what a good user experience would look like and then build the corresponding lexicon
Before committing to a lexicon I want to understand what a good user experience would look like and then build the corresponding lexicon
Here is an idea how to make the discourse healthier: change the incentive structure of the reply section.
Right now the replies are sorted by the number of likes. This is extremely gameable. 🧵
Right now the replies are sorted by the number of likes. This is extremely gameable. 🧵
October 9, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Here is an idea how to make the discourse healthier: change the incentive structure of the reply section.
Right now the replies are sorted by the number of likes. This is extremely gameable. 🧵
Right now the replies are sorted by the number of likes. This is extremely gameable. 🧵
Would anyone be interested creating an avatar for the For You feed in exchange for a credit in the feed description?
I have no idea if this is a fair offer.
I have no idea if this is a fair offer.
October 7, 2025 at 1:34 AM
Would anyone be interested creating an avatar for the For You feed in exchange for a credit in the feed description?
I have no idea if this is a fair offer.
I have no idea if this is a fair offer.
I started an A/B test for this idea. 50% of the For You users will see posts ranked by the new logic.
The goal of this experiment is to reduce volatility of For You caused by your most recent likes.
I will share the results in a week or so.
The goal of this experiment is to reduce volatility of For You caused by your most recent likes.
I will share the results in a week or so.
Another idea to reduce the effect of most recent likes is to spread their score not only over the future likes for the curator but also over the likes that were made N hours before the curator liked the co-liked item.
October 4, 2025 at 7:53 PM
I started an A/B test for this idea. 50% of the For You users will see posts ranked by the new logic.
The goal of this experiment is to reduce volatility of For You caused by your most recent likes.
I will share the results in a week or so.
The goal of this experiment is to reduce volatility of For You caused by your most recent likes.
I will share the results in a week or so.
Reposted by spacecowboy
The volatility of For You has been brought up before: bsky.app/profile/xeni...
The weight of your recent likes is spread out over fewer more recent likes. Detail are in the quoted post thread.
The weight of your recent likes is spread out over fewer more recent likes. Detail are in the quoted post thread.
biggest problem with the "for you" custom feed is it seems to either have the memory of a proverbial goldfish or just a huge recency bias
doesn't seem to remember very well that even if I've liked several of some type of post today, it should still keep showing me previous categories
doesn't seem to remember very well that even if I've liked several of some type of post today, it should still keep showing me previous categories
October 3, 2025 at 12:01 PM
The volatility of For You has been brought up before: bsky.app/profile/xeni...
The weight of your recent likes is spread out over fewer more recent likes. Detail are in the quoted post thread.
The weight of your recent likes is spread out over fewer more recent likes. Detail are in the quoted post thread.
7 days later and we have some results from the experiment. When we demote popular posts we see:
- 8.26% fewer "show less like this" (3340 -> 3064)
- 0.24% more posts in For You were liked (242438 -> 243024)
- 2.43% more feed loads (438867 -> 449537)
Per user and per request metrics:
- 8.26% fewer "show less like this" (3340 -> 3064)
- 0.24% more posts in For You were liked (242438 -> 243024)
- 2.43% more feed loads (438867 -> 449537)
Per user and per request metrics:
September 28, 2025 at 2:26 PM
7 days later and we have some results from the experiment. When we demote popular posts we see:
- 8.26% fewer "show less like this" (3340 -> 3064)
- 0.24% more posts in For You were liked (242438 -> 243024)
- 2.43% more feed loads (438867 -> 449537)
Per user and per request metrics:
- 8.26% fewer "show less like this" (3340 -> 3064)
- 0.24% more posts in For You were liked (242438 -> 243024)
- 2.43% more feed loads (438867 -> 449537)
Per user and per request metrics:
If you have any suggestions for the For You feed please feel free to add them in replies. (I'm not quite up for managing an issue tracker)
@gracekind.net
@gracekind.net
September 26, 2025 at 9:58 PM
If you have any suggestions for the For You feed please feel free to add them in replies. (I'm not quite up for managing an issue tracker)
@gracekind.net
@gracekind.net
It looks like the Bluesky outage is over and the firehose is streaming again:
wscat --connect "wss://jetstream2.us-east.bsky.network/subscribe?wantedCollections=app.bsky.feed.post"
wscat --connect "wss://jetstream2.us-east.bsky.network/subscribe?wantedCollections=app.bsky.feed.post"
September 24, 2025 at 12:29 PM
It looks like the Bluesky outage is over and the firehose is streaming again:
wscat --connect "wss://jetstream2.us-east.bsky.network/subscribe?wantedCollections=app.bsky.feed.post"
wscat --connect "wss://jetstream2.us-east.bsky.network/subscribe?wantedCollections=app.bsky.feed.post"
@bnewbold.net @hailey.at @jaz.bsky.social it looks like the Jetstream firehose stopped working at 1h 24m ago (last timestamp 1758705609)
I don't know if this is just for me or everyone.
I don't know if this is just for me or everyone.
September 24, 2025 at 12:21 PM
@bnewbold.net @hailey.at @jaz.bsky.social it looks like the Jetstream firehose stopped working at 1h 24m ago (last timestamp 1758705609)
I don't know if this is just for me or everyone.
I don't know if this is just for me or everyone.
The Videos For You feed has been getting a ton of likes today. I gather @skylight.social is popping off. Are people exploring alternatives to TikTok?
September 22, 2025 at 11:39 PM
The Videos For You feed has been getting a ton of likes today. I gather @skylight.social is popping off. Are people exploring alternatives to TikTok?
I started a new For You experiment today that gives less priority to popular posts.
50% of the users on a given day will see popular posts demoted: score = score / power(popularity, 0.2)
50% will see no change (control arm).
"popularity" is the number of likes and reposts a post has.
50% of the users on a given day will see popular posts demoted: score = score / power(popularity, 0.2)
50% will see no change (control arm).
"popularity" is the number of likes and reposts a post has.
September 20, 2025 at 10:32 PM
I started a new For You experiment today that gives less priority to popular posts.
50% of the users on a given day will see popular posts demoted: score = score / power(popularity, 0.2)
50% will see no change (control arm).
"popularity" is the number of likes and reposts a post has.
50% of the users on a given day will see popular posts demoted: score = score / power(popularity, 0.2)
50% will see no change (control arm).
"popularity" is the number of likes and reposts a post has.
The algorithm behind For You is very simple so it's easy to see why any post shows up.
Curious? Then:
1. Go to linklonk.com/bluesky
2. Enter your user name
3. Enter the post url to explain
4. Hit Submit
Curious? Then:
1. Go to linklonk.com/bluesky
2. Enter your user name
3. Enter the post url to explain
4. Hit Submit
September 16, 2025 at 1:43 AM
The algorithm behind For You is very simple so it's easy to see why any post shows up.
Curious? Then:
1. Go to linklonk.com/bluesky
2. Enter your user name
3. Enter the post url to explain
4. Hit Submit
Curious? Then:
1. Go to linklonk.com/bluesky
2. Enter your user name
3. Enter the post url to explain
4. Hit Submit
Have been running this For You feed experiment for a week now when we demote posts that were liked only by a single curator (ie, a user that shares a like with you).
In the experiment the users are less likely to do all of these:
- show less like this
- show more like this
- like a post
In the experiment the users are less likely to do all of these:
- show less like this
- show more like this
- like a post
A new For You experiment started.
Now that we have "show more like this" and "show less like this" we can tell not only which For You posts people like but also what they don't like. This is helpful to identify some potential algorithm improvements.
Now that we have "show more like this" and "show less like this" we can tell not only which For You posts people like but also what they don't like. This is helpful to identify some potential algorithm improvements.
September 14, 2025 at 12:26 AM
Have been running this For You feed experiment for a week now when we demote posts that were liked only by a single curator (ie, a user that shares a like with you).
In the experiment the users are less likely to do all of these:
- show less like this
- show more like this
- like a post
In the experiment the users are less likely to do all of these:
- show less like this
- show more like this
- like a post
I may have found a bug with the Android app client in sendInteractions. It looks like Android app does not forward the "feedContext" from getFeedSkeleton response to sendInteractions request. It is empty.
@hailey.at would you know who could help with that?
Context below
@hailey.at would you know who could help with that?
Context below
September 7, 2025 at 10:43 PM
I may have found a bug with the Android app client in sendInteractions. It looks like Android app does not forward the "feedContext" from getFeedSkeleton response to sendInteractions request. It is empty.
@hailey.at would you know who could help with that?
Context below
@hailey.at would you know who could help with that?
Context below
Found and fixed a bug in For You.
The intention is to count likes and reposts of the same post only once per user.
From For You perspective we just care that user B endorsed item A.
For example, if you like and repost something it should be treated the same if you just like or just repost.
The intention is to count likes and reposts of the same post only once per user.
From For You perspective we just care that user B endorsed item A.
For example, if you like and repost something it should be treated the same if you just like or just repost.
September 7, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Found and fixed a bug in For You.
The intention is to count likes and reposts of the same post only once per user.
From For You perspective we just care that user B endorsed item A.
For example, if you like and repost something it should be treated the same if you just like or just repost.
The intention is to count likes and reposts of the same post only once per user.
From For You perspective we just care that user B endorsed item A.
For example, if you like and repost something it should be treated the same if you just like or just repost.