Happy holidays to everyone whose holiday isn’t what they want it to be. whether it is illness, poverty, distance from loved ones or something else that’s making things tough for you this year, i hope that you can find peace and warmth. i hope that your year will end and start on a brighter note
Hiya! Curious about joining bluesky but intimidated by all the features? Already on bluesky but want to learn more? Then welcome to my quick guide on getting started and navigating bluesky!~
What is Bluesky?
it’s a social media site that’s owned by no single person or company. it's aim is to bring back the early days of twitter before bots, elon musk or algorithms took over.
Personally I find the site really cozy, wholesome, and engaging.
my Bluesky account for example
What’s unique about Bluesky?
→ CUSTOMIZATION:
your timeline is very easy to control. There’s tons of options, so be sure to go through each tab in your settings. some options include: turning off autoplay, changing the order in which threaded replies show, changing DM settings, content preferences and lots of visual app settings.
→ MODERATION LISTS:
human made, mass blocklists. These are public lists of accounts that when you subscribe to you automatically block or mute everyone in that specific blocklist. A great way to avoid unwanted content, and interactions.
✦ Moderation lists I recommend will be below the cut
→ STARTER PACKS:
recommendation lists on who to follow, made by users. You can even curate your own starter pack of recommendations!
✦ Starter pack recommendations will be below the cut
→ FEEDS:
public timelines, basically. There are a lot of feeds you can join, or you can even create your own. I made a feed featuring just my pixel art so it doesn’t get cluttered with text posts or other photos in my media tab.
✦ I’ll post feeds I recommend below and link you to a tutorial on how to create your own feed
→ BLOCKING/MUTING:
bluesky has a great blocking system. When you block someone they can no longer see, or interact with you. They also have a feature to make your blog inaccessible unless logged in.
you can also mute specific people, delete post replies, and even detach your post from a reblog. You can also mute specific words, phrases, tags etc.
→ NSFW:
bluesky allows NSFW content, including artwork, porn, lewds etc. They also have a great moderation page to avoid the content completely, censor the content, or show it if you’d wish.
✦ just go to settings > moderation > toggle on NSFW settings and it’ll let you heavily moderate.
→ LABELS:
this is a really cool feature on the site, you can subscribe to certain pages that enable a lot of fun/useful labels that help you in different ways! (like pronoun tags, artist tags etc)
✦ Labels to browse will be posted below
→ COMMUNITIES:
the vastly diverse communities really feel like the best parts of tumblr. since you can so heavily curate your experience, it can really feel like a calming oasis. Mine is mostly artists, and other creatives.
there’s also a large community of professional artists, art directors, authors, celebrities, and even the best shitposters from twitter. the app really is what you make of it but it’s thriving right now.
RECOMMENDATIONS & LINKS BELOW ⬎
→ MODERATION LISTS:
HATE SPEECH:
NAZIS | MAGA | MAGAv2 | MAGAv3 | TRANSPHOBES & HOMOPHOBES | FAR RIGHT | FAR RIGHTv2 | FAR RIGHTv3 | ELON MUSK FANBOYS | ANTI-BLACK | ANTI-VAX
✦ to block or mute everyone in the blocklist at once, click subscribe in the top right corner:
→ STARTER PACKS:
ART:
PIXEL ART | PIXEL ARTv2 | WOMEN OF PIXEL ART | BADASS DIGITAL ARTISTS | MAGIC THE GATHERING ARTIST | PAINTERS OF BLUESKY | INDIE COMIC CREATORS | LGBTQIA+ COMIC CREATORS
✦ for more niche starter packs, use the search function. search your specific interest and ‘starter pack’ and you’ll find some!
→ FEEDS:
DISCOVER | WHATS TRENDING | MENTIONS | ART | TRENDING ART
THE GRAM: a timeline for exclusively image posts from those you follow. no textposts etc.
ONLYPOST: similar to the gram, it shows a timeline of only those you follow. no reposts, just original posts.
📌: a way to bookmark posts. just reply with the pin emoji.
✦ there’s tons of others feeds as well! just use the feed tab and you can browse feeds or search for specific ones.
✦ TUTORIAL ON HOW TO CREATE A CUSTOM FEED FOR YOUR ART/POSTS
→ LABELS:
SKYWATCH: most popular label. Lots of useful labels!
AI Labels: identifies AI users, can also enable hiding the posters.
Pronouns: self explanatory but useful. can add a badge with your pronouns!
✦ you can search for additional label bots on bluesky!
OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS:
✦ EXPIRIENCE ENHANCING TOOLS RECS
✦ CLEARSKY: TRACK BLOCKS AND BLOCKLISTS
✦ SKYFEED: CREATE CUSTOM FEEDS EASILY
✦ use the block function often. do not entertain trolls or hate speech.
✦ as well as starter packs, there’s also lists! lists can be used in the same way to create curated lists of accounts. it’s a good way to keep track of specific genres of posters you’re interested in, and finding new ones!
✦ hashtags: use them! they’re beneficial in boosting your post. you can even link hashtags in your bio making you easier to find. another method of making you more visible is if you post an ‘interest’ post! basically just type things you’re interested in and it’ll help people find you / vice versa !
✦ update your profile first thing, like bio avi etc. make a small post so people know you're real. interact and engage! the communities there are so welcoming!
I think that covers abt everything i wanted to cover! Hope this was helpful and thanks for reading lol
Hey, emergency post aa ;; our senior cat, Tobi, has suddenly developed issues we need to have checked out ASAP. Anything at all helps, we need enough to cover the vet expenses and any possible treatment/medication to help him out ;; pic of our old man 4 attention aaa ;;
Okay so final bill is $749 and here's what I've got on PayPal 😖 I'm open for emergency comms until this is paid off, I'll leave my donation post up until we've met the goal ;; thank y'all for your help thus far aahh❤ ;;
Everything is good except he's got a UTI with some crystals. They're sending us home with medication and Tobi is going on a prescription diet.
Finished commission and some process to it! She's an elf named Madame K for my SO's D&D campaign, and she's in her new outfit for the new arc they're in :) Really done in collaboration with my SO, who's the DM of their game hahaha.
i’m unable to move out of my parents place post-uni, and i’ve seen other friends in the uk also struggling to find accommodation & have to make serious compromises just to find places to live.
this has made me super curious about the housing crises globally, and how people in my age group are living!
please if you answer this poll, put the country you currently live in in the tags! and please reblog for a decent sample size! <33
prguitarman
annaxmalina
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
ellievsbear
vaporwave
