Many of us in the Bluesky community, or our friends, have found ourselves inadvertently placed on moderation lists, thereby losing valuable opportunities to build and grow our communities. These lists, often used for malicious purposes by certain groups such as the MAGA crowd, disrupt the efforts of those who are working to create open and welcoming environments. Unfortunately, mistakes happen, and when individuals are inaccurately added to these lists, it results in unnecessary barriers and divisions within our community.

Moderation lists, as they currently exist, serve no essential purpose. They are supposed to manage negative behavior effectively but instead have become tools for targeting and suppressing specific groups and individuals unjustly. Their usage often veers away from fair moderation and inadvertently punishes innocent members due to errors or intentional misuse. This malfeasance and the potential for reputational damage make these lists detrimental to the core values of our community.

It is vital for Bluesky to maintain a space that encourages growth, communication, and healthy discourse. The existence of these moderation lists hinders our ability to achieve this vision. Removing them would mitigate unnecessary hardships and foster a more inclusive environment for everyone involved.

We appeal to Bluesky to abolish these lists in favor of more equitable and productive moderation strategies. Individually blocking people, or placing people on Mute, serves the purpose these list were originally created for, and remove the possibility of abuse.

Join us in urging Bluesky to take decisive action against these harmful moderation lists. Sign this petition today to help create a fairer, more inclusive platform for all its users. PLEASE SHARE. We need a lot of signatures to get BlueSky to pay attention!