Tabletop makers are abandoning X for Bluesky en masse
In the wake of the US election, tabletop makers and fans are abandoning Elon Musk’s X for alternatives like Bluesky. While alternatives like Thread and Mastodon have also seen growth during this social media exodus, Bluesky’s unique combination of content curation tools, moderation protocols, and overall ease of use has provided the opportunity for tabletop makers to rebuild communities that align with their ethics and goals.
Formerly known as Twitter, the microblogging site Since purchase by Elon Musk in October 2022 for $44 billionthe site has experienced a number of significant changes including, but not limited to, Lay off 80% of its employeesturn verification badges in one paid systemturn over and disassemble moderate protections (in line with Musk’s “the absolutism of free speech“), a documented increase in numbers hate speech as well as wrong informationAnd Musk’s involvement upon Donald Trump’s re-election – causing users to abandon the once important community and industry center. According to NPRAfter the elections, more than 115,000 X users had deactivated their accounts by November 19. Others have kept their accounts to avoid potential imitators, while making statements indicating that their social presence will primarily live “where the sky is bluer.”
Bluesky, which launched in early 2023, has grown from 9 million users in September to 21.2 million users at the time of publication, with a growth rate of approximately 8 new users per second. This includes large parts of the tabletop ecosystem, who are using the new platform’s tools to reconnect with their communities and rebuild their audiences, while protecting themselves from bad actors.
Bluesky’s lack of a centralized algorithm is both an advantage and a barrier for new users. Instead of building engagement through controversial posts, users curate “feeds” that can offer a curated set of posts around a central topic. Additionally, any Bluesky user can create a “starter pack,” a collection of accounts under one umbrella that users can follow (or block) en masse instead of searching for individual posters. According to the independently created aggregation tool Bluesky directorythere are currently 40 different feeds and over 200 starter packs specifically for tabletop games, with the vast majority focused on tabletop role-playing games. However, these discoverability and moderation tools can also be used to target marginalized individuals, which is a growing concern as the site becomes more popular — although Bluesky’s powerful (if imperfect) moderation tools like blocking and reporting provide significant safeguards that Twitter lacked .
It’s unclear what long-term impact the migration to Bluesky will have on tabletop makers, though many are happy for the foreseeable future to be on a platform that isn’t adjacent to the levers of an incoming administration with authoritarian objectives formulated. Whether Bluesky will provide a sense of community and opportunity like Twitter once did, or be able to maintain stability amid such tremendous growth, remains to be seen.