witchsky, the feed

Well, welcome 🤗

zero worries, I swear!!! just figured better safe than sorry bc I know the whole bluesky ecosystem is so confusing for folks (and doesn’t hurt to have a lowkey shout out and easy click for folks looking for witchsky.app) it’s all good!! 😊

witchsky.com !

the Witchsky guide
witchsky.com

It’s both - I created and curate witchsky. But it’s created using the third-party app, skyfeed. That is where the data exists. I can fix the feed’s algorithm, but I can’t fix the brain that hosts it.

When there are feed outages there is nothing I can do on my end to remedy it, as it is a @skyfeed.app server outage.

Quick tips:
1) You can use hashtags to search, or you can pin the feed for quick navigation

2) The WitchSky feed is not for tarot posts! there was too much “divination of the day” so tarot tags are muted. Don’t worry, there’s a TarotSky feed too!

If there’s a particular user you enjoy, you can check their profile to find the Starter Packs tab to see if they have any - who they recommend

Starter packs are curated lists of folks to follow. Basically, a bundle of follow recommendations. Click into one that catches your eye and hit “follow all” or scroll it to follow users individually.

so in short, you’re not doing anything wrong. especially when there’s an influx in posts, the HN algo might miss some posts. just keep engaging organically!

there are two factors for this:
1) appearance in the feed is not immediate, it takes time for the server to process and cycle posts into it
2) the feed is not strictly chronological, it does have a very slight HN ranking algorithm (so posts with more likes in balance with age hold more rank)

First two resources are alt text for bsky guides, last one is a general guide to bluesky:
eustace.link/hi-bluesky-i...

manningkrull.com/digital-phil...

mackuba.eu/2024/02/21/b...

Reworked new version is ready! Keeping the original with both but modified the name to reflect. There is now two new versions, one for witchsky only and one for tarotsky only

true I made a BIPOC version of that one when I joined

bsky.app/profile/did:...

#witchsky starter pack thread? if you have one, drop it here

- I recommend browsing and hand-selecting accounts that fit your interests
- create a list and add folks so you can browse them there (great for folks you don’t want to follow directly, or to separate your interests into hubs)

Welcome to #witchsky everyone! I know you’re getting swamped with advice and how-to, but the one thing I haven’t seen yet is advice around building a following and connecting with people generally. So, a thread:

that’s ok! we all know there’s a big learning curve and adjustment period

thread for new #witchsky feed visitors!

3) Alt Text Alt Text Alt Text !! the culture of this app highly endorses accessibility and inclusivity. many users will refuse to follow your account and/or engage your posts if you don’t use alt text. #witchsky

#witchsky tips
1) you can use hashtags to search, or you can pin the witchsky feed for quick navigation

2) the witchsky feed is not for tarot posts! there was too many “divination of the day” content so tarot tags are muted. but don’t worry, there’s a tarotsky feed too

I've been trying to get the infra back online for the last 30 minutes and looks like it's recovering now. I deployed a new version of the query-engine yesterday and it looks like it got extremely slow after starting to use swap mem, which resulted in very long timeouts and as a result, broken feeds.

Reminder that #witchsky is not self-hosted, it operates on SkyFeed. When there are outages, I’m unable to do anything but wait just like you. @redsolver.dev is the developer behind the project if you want news about feed outages - and to support their efforts!

regarding recent feed outage #witchsky

Y'all know that the witchsky feed(s) and #witchsky hashtags are two different things, right?

That's why you get slightly different results if you click #witchsky vs going to the feed.

No one owns the hashtag itself, and anyone can create a feed using #witchsky as a search parameter!

But I so so so look forward to this change.

No. In the feed-building system you determine what filters to apply to a feed you make. Firehose is the most common (every post on atproto), or only posts from a specific user. There could be a time when pre-made feeds could become an input.

patiently waiting for @skyfeed.app to support using feeds as inputs 🥺