@ArtofAlexCanEmed congrats for taking the plunge, you had more to lose than I did but ultimately it sounds like you knew exactly where true value lies ️

@lloydjatkinson a good sign and my profuse apologies

🧵7/7: So no, I am not afraid of being stuck in an #echochamber by choosing to cut my #bluesky bridge and choosing to live exclusively in the #fediverse. If/when I decide to do an undercover stint, I'll do it at work or as part of a #campaigning project (where I maintain observation accounts on major platforms). In the meantime, I'll reclaim dominion over my #home, my brain & my #mentalhealth.

🧵6/7: If the #home remained the sanctuary it is supposed to be, if we didn't willingly accept an invasion of our private spaces by #techbros, we would have more energy to engage #IRL as we used to, using the physical third spaces that wouldn't have been commodified by #billionaires, so we could keep on meeting a #diversity of people.

🧵5/7: ...#Home. As far as I am aware, nobody is expecting me to open my door to #nazis, genocidal #zionists, #antivaxxers, nor invite #obscurantism champions for dinner to ensure they can share "their side of the story". So why should I invite them in the palm of my hand in every room in my home?
The reason why #polarisation has exploded isn't because we don't engage on #socialmedia, it's BECAUSE we engage with #algorithms that favour conflict ("it bleeds, it leads" https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-023-01538-4)

🧵4/7: But who said that a personal #socialmedia account was the only route to engage with people "who don't agree with you"?
Before the age of either #Mastodon or #Bluesky or even #Facebook, I only had to contend with the odd #racist cabbie or the random drunk City banker lecturing me on Malthus. Now they are IN MY FUCKING FACE every day, several times a day. Since when has that become the norm?
I'll tell you about another place where this wasn't the norm...

🧵3/7:... who chose #Bluesky because "it is a #community who care about others with a lot of #cooperative energy". When I suggested Bluesky might not quite be that, he answered he was "not concerned with ownership structures" and didn't "see validating a government department as facilitating #fascism."
And that's when it hit me: must I really contend with that level of reflection?
Staying bridged to Bluesky is often seen as an effort to step out of the #echochamber & reaching across the aisle.

🧵2/7: I adopted @bsky.brid.gy early on, when I was still recovering from having left #Twitter & was concerned about critical mass & engagement.

Now? There's only 2 #bluesky accounts I'd miss & stand to lose a handful of followers. Nothing that justifies staying. The nail in the coffin was a recent interaction with a Bluesky user who identified as " a bleeding-heart #liberal and compulsive speculator rambling about saving the world" ...

🧵1/7: A #longthread on #bluesky / #bridge / #echochambers.

Following @Gargron's decision to opt out of the Bluesky bridge, most likely driven by the platform's official verification of the #ICE account, and one last pointless interaction with a Bluesky account holder,
I decided to follow suit & sever my own Bluesky ties. I realised the idea of echo chambers was probably a myth invented by the giant #socialmedia platforms to prevent users from fleeing. Let me explain.
https://mastodon.social/@Gargron/115912977448929626

@nonzerosumjames.bsky.social good you're bridged in, but I am not sure #Bluesky is the "good community" platform you portray it to be. Consider moving to the #fediverse? https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/20/ice-becomes-one-of-the-most-blocked-accounts-on-bluesky-after-its-verification/