I’ve just learned that this social media network where I’ve been rashly posting my thoughts is broadcasting this information on the public internet without my explicit consent (aside from the bit where I set up an account, agreed to the terms, and repeatedly posted the content). Apparently I have to opt out of this if I don’t like it? What is this!
@graphite I don't think I'd describe what is happening as "sending". The proposed BlueSky bridge won't be bridging private or unlisted profiles or posts. So what it's doing is essentially providing a feed of information that is already available via the web, or RSS feed, or API. The people who tell us about their projects get slammed for this, meanwhile the search engines or bots can index freely and we are none the wiser. But only the public stuff, that's the thing.
“Only fully public content is bridged, not followers-only or otherwise private posts or profiles. Still, if you want to opt out, I understand. Feel free to DM me at @snarfed (different account than this one), email me, file a GitHub issue, or put #nobridge in your profile bio.”
It’s not clear about what it means for those who disable indexing, so that’s a fair question. I’m not actually sure what that setting does beyond your own server.
@snarfed I totally get that people might not want their content on BlueSky. Not a fan of it myself. I get why you might defederate from the bridge instance. Totally understandable. I also totally get that opt out "consent" is not really consent. But by participating in the fediverse, which is on the public internet, to some extent we have to accept that we have opted in to our public posts being publically available to anyone. It's the outrage every time this happens that I don't understand.
@snarfed Maybe it's my privilege showing. I've rarely if ever experienced any kind of online harassment, and I know for many other folks it's a daily battle. Maybe I just don't understand the risks in terms of what kind of unwanted attention this kind of thing is likely to create for some people.
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