Content Scrapers Blocklist

Since people keep asking "Why am I on your list?" via DM:

The answer:
You're not on the list. You're *subscribed* to the list. If you were on the list, you wouldn't be able to DM this account in the first place.

You most likely saw the label on ClearSky and misinterpreted what it said.

- Pet accounts bsky.app/profile/wooz...

if you've pressed "subscribe" and then mute/block, when you visit the offending accounts, it should display the label "muted/blocked by Content Scrapers"

Feeds

The largest, oldest science feed (with curated users): bsky.app/profile/did:...

Birds: bsky.app/profile/did:...

Astronomy: bsky.app/profile/did:...

SciArt: bsky.app/profile/did:...

You can find more feeds here: bsky.app/feeds

SciArt Starter Pack 🐡 Join the conversation

Starter packs

SciArt: go.bsky.app/DygrEnH

Nature photographers: go.bsky.app/DknVNVG

Naturalists: go.bsky.app/5MZYVyN

You can find more starter packs here: blueskydirectory.com/starter-packs

If you want to find ethically sourced science images posted by actual experts, this thread is a good pointer. It focuses on space pics, but the principle applies everywhere.

In short, bluesky's starter packs and feeds help you find legitimate accounts, eliminating the need for aggregator accounts.

I highly recommend this thread for finding ethical space content by real experts:

I'm no space expert, so all the space accounts included on this lists were reviewed by multiple astronomers & space image processors.

The common reasons: impostor NASA accounts, made up caption/info, or slipped AI crap between real photos. Regardless, not the best practice for science accounts.

I've run the original list for a year. If there's anything I learned about pet people, is that they're willing to listen to privacy concerns about pet pics being posted without consent.

Please treat each other nicely and remember that we all came here to escape the toxicity of other platforms.

The cat/dog lists are starting to emerge under this post. They're still early in development so I can't personally vouch for them yet, but please work with them as a community. When in doubt, engage in good faith.

I will no longer review reports regarding cat/dog accounts. 😇

yes! that would be wonderful. I've heard of the funeral scams but never actually encountered any.

It'd be great if people who are more in touch with pet communities could take care of these accounts so that I could focus on science misinformation & art theft.

Would someone please step up and take over the cat/dog side of bluesky already? There are so many of them to, uh, vet.

go to this link: bsky.app/profile/cont...

on the top right, click subscribe, and then you can choose to mute or block all accounts listed here

Related services I recommend:

@aimod.social can label or hide AI-generated images from your feed, useful for people who have trouble telling them from real photos

@arttheft.bsky.social warns you of posts with stolen artwork and accounts that repeatedly post them without the artists' permission

Others have also created themed blocklists, so please report to people who know their fields better.

- Entertainment (movie, TV, music, video game) bsky.app/profile/did:...
- Stolen nudes
bsky.app/profile/did:...

I'll add more relevant blocklists as replies to this thread.🧵

So with this move I'd like to narrow down my scope. I no longer accept:

- Non-English speaking accounts. Ideally each major language should have its own moderation list.
- Meme accounts. Lots of them are grifters, but some are normal users' meme stash. Telling them apart is too time consuming. 🧵

Thanks to bsky's popularity, the scrapers have since flourished and people started reporting accounts outside my expertise.

Most of them are obvious enough (or reported with receipts) for me to feel comfortable including them. But I'm just One Guy and I can't keep up with the site's growth. 🧵

Accounts spreading dubious info (i.e. dangerous handling of wildlife, redirecting traffic to sell unrelated products) or made up (generated images/videos) while insisting to be science-themed will be included even if they post with credits. 🧵

First and foremost, the list's primary purpose is to protect scientists and sci-artists including nature photographers.

They remain the most active contributors to this list and consult me on difficult cases to minimize false positives. I tend to be harsh with accounts posting in this scene. 🧵

Hello and thank you for using the blocklist!

The original list hosted on my personal account @franzanth.bsky.social was created during bsky's early days. It has since escaped my circle of friends and evolved into a multi-purpose blocklist, so I feel it's important to redefine my scope here. 🧵