bsky is decentralized, in theory more so than Mastodon, which is federated (a variant of decentralization that requires you to trust the server admins of a server of your choice)
"In theory", because so far, there are very few nodes (one?), very few (if any?) alternative implementations, most is controlled and operated by a small team paid for by a.o. Jack Dorsey and other funds. Mastodon (using the ActivityPub protocol) has one main repo, managed by one person under a non-profit that also operates the biggest instance. But also has dozens of other implementations in other languages, with other niches, with more, less, other features and so on.
So, "best bet" would probably be to:
- Sign up at both a Mastodon and Bsky. Try them both for while.
- See which one fits your needs, style and practical needs best. Stick with that one.
I wouldn't let that stop you from signing up for bluesky -- in my experience it is definitely the best of the options for a twitter alternative -- but you should know exactly what it is you're getting into before you get into it.
> And at present, there's really only one each of the Relay and (Twitter-like) AppView components used in practice, but there is a real possibility of this changing and real architectural affordance work to allow it. So perhaps things to not seem all that bad.
I think a big pro for Bluesky from a tech perspective is how widely people are using their own websites as their handles and as verification. It doesn't do anything to protect Bluesky from going to hell but it does make it significantly easier to relink with people again.
Mastodon has failed to show any signs of hitting a critical mass so I kind of feel like it's a different level of social network altogether. A lot more durable and worth making an effort with but unlikely to ever become much more significant than it currently is.
Unless they interop. And there is no reason why they shouldn't.
(other than grumpy old neckbeards bickering over their Prefered Thing and blocking any progress towards cooperation or interoperability. Which is actually a thing in "The Fediverse" even right now. Yes, really. A few loud voices manage to bully down projects that build bridges between both.)
I have and deactivated my account a day or two in -- that un-removable message up top that it will use your posts, likes, etc to train their models unsettled me. At least they were upfront about it, unlike Twitter/X.
I also didn't like that I had 30 different followers the moment I signed up.
This is related to the work of Latvian mathematician Daina Taimina from Cornell University. She has been using crocheting as an educational tool for illustrating hyperbolic space.
