Tony Wong
@thevballdude.bsky.social
Interests include content moderation/T&S/platforms, internet culture, buildings/infrastructure/transit, politics, elections, and maps. Oh, and volleyball.
Reposted by Tony Wong
It feels like a lot of disconnect comes from the fact that what makes sense as operable policies for a scaled social media site has low relevance to what makes sense as norms for healthy society, despite our expectation that these should have more of a relationship.
November 14, 2025 at 9:50 PM
It feels like a lot of disconnect comes from the fact that what makes sense as operable policies for a scaled social media site has low relevance to what makes sense as norms for healthy society, despite our expectation that these should have more of a relationship.
Reposted by Tony Wong
I thought the @sarahkendzior.bsky.social suspension was an interestingly nontrivial moderation scenario. I wrote up a little case study/explainer on how it might have been handled on Mastodon. Probably only for people who care about moderation nitty-gritty.
www.tbray.org/ongoing/When...
www.tbray.org/ongoing/When...
November 14, 2025 at 5:44 PM
I thought the @sarahkendzior.bsky.social suspension was an interestingly nontrivial moderation scenario. I wrote up a little case study/explainer on how it might have been handled on Mastodon. Probably only for people who care about moderation nitty-gritty.
www.tbray.org/ongoing/When...
www.tbray.org/ongoing/When...
Reposted by Tony Wong
Sigh. I want to like these folks but I wish they would stop stepping on rakes. *taps sign, again*
Bluesky trust and safety is too important to be left to Bluesky
Bluesky is open about almost everything, except setting and enforcing their community guidelines. They have an opportunity to lead the Internet forward with a democratic alternative.
www.platformocracy.com
November 14, 2025 at 2:02 PM
Sigh. I want to like these folks but I wish they would stop stepping on rakes. *taps sign, again*
Bluesky should really specify whether a suspension is temporary or permanent.
@pfrazee.com @aaron.bsky.team
@pfrazee.com @aaron.bsky.team
ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME BLUESKY
November 14, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Bluesky should really specify whether a suspension is temporary or permanent.
@pfrazee.com @aaron.bsky.team
@pfrazee.com @aaron.bsky.team
Reposted by Tony Wong
When you are a small social media site getting the same letter as Meta, Google, and TikTok, that's a sign that you're under a degree of scrutiny that is quite frankly terrifying, especially in this current climate!
November 12, 2025 at 9:08 PM
When you are a small social media site getting the same letter as Meta, Google, and TikTok, that's a sign that you're under a degree of scrutiny that is quite frankly terrifying, especially in this current climate!
Reposted by Tony Wong
It likely does not help that Bluesky was one of the six social media sites that got the letter from Clay Higgins, chair of the law enforcement subcommittee of the House oversight committee, about violent rhetoric after Charlie Kirk's death: clayhiggins.house.gov/2025/09/15/h...
Higgins Calls Upon Social Media CEOs to Condemn the Celebration of Charlie Kirk’s Assassination - Congressman Clay Higgins
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Clay Higgins (R-LA) delivered a letter to social media leaders demanding the immediate removal of posts and accounts that celebrated the assassination of Charlie Kirk, t...
clayhiggins.house.gov
November 12, 2025 at 9:08 PM
It likely does not help that Bluesky was one of the six social media sites that got the letter from Clay Higgins, chair of the law enforcement subcommittee of the House oversight committee, about violent rhetoric after Charlie Kirk's death: clayhiggins.house.gov/2025/09/15/h...
Reposted by Tony Wong
Bluesky used to use a much less stringent threshold for removing violent rhetoric than they do today, and it changed to the current more-stringent policy early on, when a large number of users objected to hyperbolic violent rhetoric used against a prominent poster that was not moderated.
November 12, 2025 at 9:08 PM
Bluesky used to use a much less stringent threshold for removing violent rhetoric than they do today, and it changed to the current more-stringent policy early on, when a large number of users objected to hyperbolic violent rhetoric used against a prominent poster that was not moderated.
Reposted by Tony Wong
I believe the mods when they say they haven't finished the technical work necessary to automatically inform users of what posts they're being suspended for.
I also believe that's not an acceptable flaw for this website in late 2025.
I also believe that's not an acceptable flaw for this website in late 2025.
November 12, 2025 at 1:53 AM
I believe the mods when they say they haven't finished the technical work necessary to automatically inform users of what posts they're being suspended for.
I also believe that's not an acceptable flaw for this website in late 2025.
I also believe that's not an acceptable flaw for this website in late 2025.
Reposted by Tony Wong
The upshot is that moderation employees can’t deviate from their playbook.
November 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The upshot is that moderation employees can’t deviate from their playbook.
Reposted by Tony Wong
The implication of which is that every obvious copyright violation those discretion-exercising employees fail to deal with, with equal agency, opens the door to effectively unlimited liability to copyright holders whose works are infringed upon.
November 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
The implication of which is that every obvious copyright violation those discretion-exercising employees fail to deal with, with equal agency, opens the door to effectively unlimited liability to copyright holders whose works are infringed upon.
Reposted by Tony Wong
One of those reasons is an (‘ancient’ haha) bit of case law attached to Mavrix Photography LLC v LiveJournal, Inc. which delineates that employed moderators who have the ability and opportunity to exercise judgement on moderating content, also have A&O on obv. copyright violations
November 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
One of those reasons is an (‘ancient’ haha) bit of case law attached to Mavrix Photography LLC v LiveJournal, Inc. which delineates that employed moderators who have the ability and opportunity to exercise judgement on moderating content, also have A&O on obv. copyright violations
Reposted by Tony Wong
Trust & Safety moderation employees / contractors, for a significant number of reasons, are not afforded the ability nor the opportunity to exercise their own judgement. They are not volunteer moderators, (who can and should exercise discretion); employees must stick to a rulebook.
November 12, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Trust & Safety moderation employees / contractors, for a significant number of reasons, are not afforded the ability nor the opportunity to exercise their own judgement. They are not volunteer moderators, (who can and should exercise discretion); employees must stick to a rulebook.
Reposted by Tony Wong
I think this kind of information is extremely useful to have when a platform suspends a high-profile public figure, and I'd much rather see people arguing about whether this is a good rule than, say, whether a journalist was banned for sharply criticizing an elected official.
November 12, 2025 at 7:26 PM
I think this kind of information is extremely useful to have when a platform suspends a high-profile public figure, and I'd much rather see people arguing about whether this is a good rule than, say, whether a journalist was banned for sharply criticizing an elected official.
Reposted by Tony Wong
The thread includes three statements we didn't know until now:
1. Rationale
2. Kind of mod action (72 hour suspension)
3. Notification was sent
(No one but Sarah knows what notification she actually saw or exactly what it included—the team's said they're working on better emails.)
1. Rationale
2. Kind of mod action (72 hour suspension)
3. Notification was sent
(No one but Sarah knows what notification she actually saw or exactly what it included—the team's said they're working on better emails.)
November 12, 2025 at 7:23 PM
The thread includes three statements we didn't know until now:
1. Rationale
2. Kind of mod action (72 hour suspension)
3. Notification was sent
(No one but Sarah knows what notification she actually saw or exactly what it included—the team's said they're working on better emails.)
1. Rationale
2. Kind of mod action (72 hour suspension)
3. Notification was sent
(No one but Sarah knows what notification she actually saw or exactly what it included—the team's said they're working on better emails.)
Reposted by Tony Wong
I want to restate something I said in a lot of replies yesterday, which is that this move is not going to reduce replies yelling at the Bsky team—and that should not be the goal.
What it does is clarify how moderation works here so that people can assess that and act accordingly.
What it does is clarify how moderation works here so that people can assess that and act accordingly.
The account owner of @sarahkendzior.bsky.social was suspended for 72 hours for expressing a desire to shoot the author of an article. The post, made 11/10, stated: "I want to shoot the author of this article just to watch him die." 1/2
November 12, 2025 at 7:19 PM
I want to restate something I said in a lot of replies yesterday, which is that this move is not going to reduce replies yelling at the Bsky team—and that should not be the goal.
What it does is clarify how moderation works here so that people can assess that and act accordingly.
What it does is clarify how moderation works here so that people can assess that and act accordingly.
Reposted by Tony Wong
Bluesky suspended Sarah Kendzior today for no reason whatsoever. She just shared excerpts of her articles, which were as always incisive and not offensive at all. Hey @pfrazee.com this is super not OK. I know her- we've interacted a fair bit via chats and her work is essential.
November 11, 2025 at 5:02 AM
Bluesky suspended Sarah Kendzior today for no reason whatsoever. She just shared excerpts of her articles, which were as always incisive and not offensive at all. Hey @pfrazee.com this is super not OK. I know her- we've interacted a fair bit via chats and her work is essential.
Reposted by Tony Wong
This is a fun chart!
The green is the main bsky load balancer traffic throughput from Saturday night, and the purple is how much traffic there was 7 days before (the previous Saturday)
The spike is due to the world series - pretty incredible! ⚾
The green is the main bsky load balancer traffic throughput from Saturday night, and the purple is how much traffic there was 7 days before (the previous Saturday)
The spike is due to the world series - pretty incredible! ⚾
November 3, 2025 at 6:05 PM
This is a fun chart!
The green is the main bsky load balancer traffic throughput from Saturday night, and the purple is how much traffic there was 7 days before (the previous Saturday)
The spike is due to the world series - pretty incredible! ⚾
The green is the main bsky load balancer traffic throughput from Saturday night, and the purple is how much traffic there was 7 days before (the previous Saturday)
The spike is due to the world series - pretty incredible! ⚾
Reposted by Tony Wong
There was already a *lot* going on with Bluesky, and now it's under even more pressure. I wrote about how I think about moderation, affordances, expectations, human needs, and powerful trolls for @techpolicypress.bsky.social
www.techpolicy.press/trump-admini...
www.techpolicy.press/trump-admini...
Trump Administration's Arrival on Bluesky Highlights Growing Pains for Open Networks | TechPolicy.Press
The administration’s antagonistic entry to the platform is best understood as a game of chicken, writes Erin Kissane.
www.techpolicy.press
October 22, 2025 at 6:08 PM
There was already a *lot* going on with Bluesky, and now it's under even more pressure. I wrote about how I think about moderation, affordances, expectations, human needs, and powerful trolls for @techpolicypress.bsky.social
www.techpolicy.press/trump-admini...
www.techpolicy.press/trump-admini...
Reposted by Tony Wong
Been arguing with myself all morning about whether this fits BlueSky's stated user control ethos or not. I've figured out why as a technical matter it does, but as a social matter eeehhhh.
October 14, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Been arguing with myself all morning about whether this fits BlueSky's stated user control ethos or not. I've figured out why as a technical matter it does, but as a social matter eeehhhh.
Reposted by Tony Wong
🌐 From the first web page created in 1991… to 1 trillion web pages archived today.
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
October 1, 2025 at 2:04 PM
🌐 From the first web page created in 1991… to 1 trillion web pages archived today.
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
Every meme, blog, tweet & vanished site is part of our shared story. This is our collective memory. And it’s being saved.
Join in our celebration this October: blog.archive.org/trillion/
#Wayback1T #WaybackMachine
Reposted by Tony Wong
Reposted by Tony Wong
Posts about scientific research on Bluesky receive substantially more attention than similar posts on Twitter. More importantly, you're far less likely to get sexist or racist replies.
Research posts on Bluesky are more original — and get better engagement
Bluesky posts about science garner more likes and reposts than similar ones on X.
go.nature.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:33 AM
Posts about scientific research on Bluesky receive substantially more attention than similar posts on Twitter. More importantly, you're far less likely to get sexist or racist replies.
Reposted by Tony Wong
not at all surprising: arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Bluesky now platform of choice for science community
It’s not just you. Survey says: “Twitter sucks now and all the cool kids are moving to Bluesky”…
arstechnica.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:03 AM
not at all surprising: arstechnica.com/science/2025...
Reposted by Tony Wong
"After two decades of sharing more online, it looks like we've decided to share less. New polling shows that nearly a third of all social media users post less than they did a year ago. That trend is especially true for adults in Gen Z." www.bbc.com/worklife/art...
Why did our friends stop posting on social media?
BBC Special Correspondent Katty Kay and writer Kyle Chayka discuss the ways that social media is changing – and what that means for how we live our lives online.
www.bbc.com
July 27, 2025 at 11:57 AM
"After two decades of sharing more online, it looks like we've decided to share less. New polling shows that nearly a third of all social media users post less than they did a year ago. That trend is especially true for adults in Gen Z." www.bbc.com/worklife/art...