#at protocol

That makes no sense at first. How can you be on a website without being on a website? But Bluesky was built specifically for situations like this. It uses something called the the AT (Authenticated Transfer) protocol, also known as ATProto. This protocol is available for other websites to use, and is intended for others to build on top of. It's sort of like how if you have a gmail account, you can still send emails to people with a protonmail account. Proton and Gmail are entirely separate email services, but they communicate with each other using a shared language: email protocols. The same can be done for almost anything on the internet as long as people adopt the protocol. Bluesky was the proof of concept for ATProto, so for a while, it was the only thing built on it. But now, there are others--from blogging software to code repository storage.

The best part? ATProto is built with migrations in mind. You can move your account without losing your posts, follows, or followers!

So, what are these alternatives?

The place where accounts live is referred to as a PDS (personal data server). There are a few PDSes open for registration!

Blacksky is focused on providing a safe space for black users.

Northsky is focused on providing a safe space for queer users.

Eurosky is focused on users from the EU.

Wafrn is a joint Bluesky and Fediverse (more on that later!) application with a focus on customizability and whimsy.

Bluesky keeps user accounts and their posts separate from the application that allows you to view them. The application that allows you to view posts is called an appview. Websites that you can browse Bluesky on consult an appview to know how accounts have been moderated. If your account lives on Bluesky's PDS and they ban you, it may be deleted, but if it lives on a different PDS, the only thing they can do is hide you using their appview. Your account and your posts will still be intact, and other appviews may let people see them. Having your account on a PDS that isn't Bluesky's keeps you safe!

You can use tools like PDSmoover to migrate your account from one PDS to another.

If you want to try out an alternative appview, Blacksky has made their own, and Witchsky is a website that allows you to browse Bluesky with a different appview.

You said "Fediverse" earlier. What is that?

The Fediverse is a loose collection of websites that run applications that use the ActivityPub protocol. Like Bluesky, these websites talk to each other to create a social experience. They just speak a different language to do it. A popular example of a Fediverse application is Mastodon. The Fediverse existed before Bluesky, so there are many more websites that are part of it!

Bluesky and the Fediverse are both considered decentralized social media! However, they take very different approaches to the idea. The pieces that run Bluesky (PDS, appview, relays, clients, and more) are all separate and copies can be run by anyone, while each Fediverse website is its own fully functional site. If all Fediverse websites but one went down, that final website would still work perfectly fine, and all the users whose accounts live on it can still talk to each other.

On Bluesky, if an important piece fails (for example, an appview), then anything relying on that piece will stop working until they switch to an alternative. But Fediverse applications don't have access to all posts like Bluesky applications do, so information for accounts that don't live on that particular site might be incomplete (ex: if you live on problemeowtic.net and your friend lives on blorbo.social, problemeowtic.net might not have any of their posts because problemeowtic.net doesn't know about them).

There are benefits and costs to both approaches, and it's up to you to decide what you think is best.

There is an application that speaks both protocols that I already talked about earlier: Wafrn! It allows you to create a Fediverse account, and then enable Bluesky integration for that account, which lets you post to the Fediverse and Bluesky at the same time. Both of your Bluesky and Fediverse feeds will be in the same place! But Wafrn hosts the Bluesky account itself, so if you want to attach a Bluesky account you already have to a Wafrn account, you will need to migrate your Bluesky account to Wafrn.

If you want to leave Bluesky completely but still have friends you can't also get to leave, you might be able to create a Fediverse account and bridge it using Bridgy. Bridgy also lets you bridge Bluesky accounts to the Fediverse. If the Fediverse interests you, I would recommend checking out Scumsuck's guide to Fediverse websites for artists.

Okay, cool. What about that other stuff you mentioned?

For more about Bluesky and the applications built surrounding it, I'd recommend checking out MacKuba's complete guide to Bluesky.

If you want to learn more about the Fediverse, I would recommend checking out Fedi Tips.