Why Peer Moderation?

Moderation usually is done by privileged moderators, and in most cases this is handled entirely by the platform itself.

While this is important for any platform, it can also lead to problems when moderation decisions clash with the company's interests, or when the platform is bought by a billionaire with their own ideas of what constitutes free speech.

Bluesky introduced composable moderation to augment their moderation capabilities and allow third parties to participate in the moderation process. This has flourished, with community-specific labelers like Blacksky, automated models like Xblock, and self-labeling like the Pronouns labeling system.

However, third party moderation also has its own drawbacks. Early on in Bluesky's journey of composable moderation, @aegis.blue gained prominence as one of the first large third-party labelers. It didn't take long before one of the people behind this labeler was involved in a personal dispute, and ended up abusing their power over the labeler.

Whether moderation is done by the platform itself or third-party labelers, in both cases these decisions are made behind closed doors, by small groups of people.

PMsky offers a new option, where moderation can happen based on consensus rather than consolidated opinions.

You can also read more about Bluesky's approach to moderation.