Given how Bluesky has been handling moderation recently (and not so recently...) I've seen many folks looking for alternatives to Bluesky. This How-To will be geared to the folks specifically in my community (fandom creators) but hopefully others will find it useful as well.

Good news, you don't have to! Since Bluesky was built on an open protocol (called ATProto), it's possible for communities to create their own servers (called a PDS) that are able to host the same data Bluesky currently does. One such PDS, and as of this writing, the second largest non-Bluesky PDS, is Blacksky. Blacksky was created initially to provide a safe digital space for Black and other marginalized folks when Bluesky's approach to moderation proved unsatisfactory. You can read a much better explanation of what Blacksky is about on their website here.

That's fine! Rudy (@rude1.blacksky.team) created a separate handle for non-Black users. Members of the Blacksky community spoke up about this and the handle name was decided so as to not be connected to the Black community and invade their space. But I do highly encourage you to contribute to Blacksky if you're able! You can read more about the handle discussion here if you'd like:

You keep all the people you follow/people following you, likes, feeds, and such. The only immediately noticeable change will be your @ handle.

Leaving Bluesky for Blacksky means your account and your data will fall under the Blacksky TOS and Privacy Policy. I highly recommend reading both before proceeding in case there's something you don't vibe with. You can also find the Blacksky Community Guidelines here.

For folks that are considering leaving Bluesky due to their policy on NSFW content, one of the most relevant parts of the Blacksky Community Guidelines is this part here:

Sex workers and adult content creators are explicitly welcomed! Huzzah! I clarified in this thread that "non-consensual" here refers to content posted without permission (including AI deepfakes), and does not apply to fictional content!!!

If you decide Blacksky isn't for you and you want to try a different PDS, see my more general guide here:

Even after you migrate to Blacksky, you can still migrate back to Bluesky, or migrate to another PDS in the future (such as these), so by no means are you locked in. For what it's worth, I currently trust Blacksky's moderation team over Bluesky's based on how Bluesky has handled several high-profile cases (Jesse Singal, JKR, UK laws, comments on Charlie Kirk, etc).

With the PDS MOOver! Or with Tektite. Both accomplish the same thing, and both have tutorial videos linked at the top of each page. Some folks might find Tektite a little smoother as the domain for your new account handle is a simple selection between two options rather than having to type it in.

Follow the steps in the provided tutorial videos! Note that it will be easiest on a computer and you need to have Two-factor authentication (2FA) disabled. Heed the warnings regarding risk of data loss. Note: You no longer need an invite code at this time.

There are currently THREE possible handle domains on Blacksky:

.blacksky.app is intended for members of the Blacksky feed and community. (read as: Black folks)

.cryptoanarchy.network is intended for folks that do not fall under the above but do wish to have their account under the Blacksky TOS, etc. (read as: non-Black folks)

.myatproto.social is another handle option for non-Black folks

Choose whichever is appropriate for you! For example, my handle would be bisprout.bsky.social to bisprout.cryptoanarchy.network.

Once you hit migrate, the migration progress will begin and it will take some time. Leave the tab open and let the blobs do their thing. For me, it took about 5 minutes, but it could be longer or shorter depending on how many folks are trying to migrate at the time.

When the blobs are all moved around, you should see something like below. Check your email and paste in the code.

Then bam! You're on the Blacksky PDS.

We're not done yet though. If you go and refresh Bluesky, you'll find yourself logged out. That's because your old account (@.bsky.social) has been deactivated. So you need to sign in with your new handle on the Blacksky PDS. To do this, you can click the little pencil to select a custom account provider.

It should open something that looks like this, where you can type in the address for the Blacksky PDS: https://blacksky.app.

Then sign in with your new handle (with either blacksky.app or cryptoanarchy.network or myatproto.social). Now you should be good to go! You can also sign in with your new handle at blacksky.community.

If you would like to give your thanks to Rudy and the Blacksky community for opening their doors to offer us safe harbor, you can donate at opencollective.com/blacksky. I highly suggest you contribute, especially if you're migrating to the Blacksky PDS as a non-Black person. Solidarity! <3

If you discover your banner, profile picture or any other media are missing, try the PDS MOOver missing blob tool here.

If you need further guidance on how to use the Import Missing Blobs tool, see @sharpiepls.com's video here! (unfortunately the video embed doesn't work here, yet 👀)