Diverse Bsky Guide

My favourite feature of Bsky is how feeds curating posts by topically relevant keywords (and or emojis/ hashtags) help you connect with your people. So in addition to my Bsky Newby Guide, this post will highlight accessibility tips, feeds to help queer, BIPOC, neurodiverse and disabled people connect, and link diverse writer chats and book feeds.

With the rise of fascism in the US, and moderation concerns on Bsky main, I also want to explore alternatives to access Bsky. BlackSky, NorthSky and more are being developed, often by diverse groups, as safe spaces for diverse people to access Bsky. These can include full account migration of your Bsky posts and followers to your new sky. I’ll summarise options and link to more details for skies for black, First Nations, LGBTQIA+ and more people.

Accessibility Tips

Alt Text

For the sake of vision impaired users, but also sensory or information overloaded neurodiverse users *waves*, go to; ‘settings’, ‘accessibility’, and check you’ve got it set so you can’t post without alt text. Note: unfortunately this setting doesn’t apply to gifs, which will autofill with vague alt text, you’ll need to remember to edit those yourself.

Sensory/ Info Overload Minimisation – Feeds

As an AuDHD user, I rarely visit my ‘following’ feed. The chaotic jumble of reposts, replies and organic posts, and the effort it takes to work out who is saying what, and what they mean vs. what they literally said, tires my ND brain swiftly. It also wears me out when my brain fog or fatigue flare, both of which can happen any time, as I have a chronic illness.

(Note: You can turn off replies or reposts for your following feed in your settings, but as that’s the one feed I view either on, I leave them turned on.)

Only Feed

‘Only,’ displays only the organic posts and quote reposts of people you follow. To me its less overwhelming, so this is where I go to I see what people I follow are up to.

Accessible Topic Feeds

Any search tends to turn up multiple feeds for that topic. I select feeds by which displays only posts and quote reposts. I also check how relevant posts are to the topic. For example, I don’t have the spoons to skim 6 posts a day about Sydney Sweeny, which show up in the Aussie feed, because she happens to share a name with one of our capital cities. I either look for the feed which brings up the most and most relevant posts, or I make my own feed (when tech issues don’t thwart me, as they are with the Aussie feed.)

(If you’re unsure how to browse or pin feeds to your menu, see my Bsky Newby Guide.)

Post Moderation

Beyond Bsky’s moderation (view that by going to settings, ‘moderation’ -which has a hand symbol and lots of moderation options), you can also subscribe to Black Sky’s Labellers. These will flag things like synthetic media, anti-black behaviour, misogyny against black women and revenge porn/ Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery. I’ve subscribed to it, as it looks like it fills some serious holes in Bsky’s moderation.

Diverse Feeds to Connect
With Your People & Books

Topical feeds means you will get news articles, and for neurodiversity and disability, posts by medical organisations or practitioners, as well as people who tick the box the feed takes its name from. But I find feeds which filter posts by keywords the best way to connect with my fellow queer, neurodiverse and disabled people. (To see their posts unrelated to being any of those things; I follow them, then browse my ‘Only Feed.’)

Note: Select any of the feeds below to check the feed creator’s notes on which words/ hashtags they pick up, to get your posts on them.

Neurodiverse Feeds

Autism, ADHD & AuDHD this is my favourite for all three. Yes, it will pick up the latest fuckery RFKjr has said, and people arguing with him. But its a good place to connect, particularly if you have autism AND ADHD.

If you only have ADHD, I suggest the ADHD feed.

For every form of neurodivergent, including mental health, try Neurodiversity. I really like this inclusive feed, but alas haven’t had the spoons to use it much of late.

Diverse Writer Chats & Prompts

Don’t just think of prompts as ideas and motivation to talk about yourself and or your books. Any writer or author chat is a chance to connect with fellow writers. I think the way to make the most of prompts and chats is to read, and where you have something to say or feel comfortable, to comment on other writers responses, as well as posting your own response.

#SpoonieAuthChat is a daily prompt for writers with limited spoons. (Which could be due to chronic illness/ physical disability and or neurodiversity.) Posted 10am EST daily. Repost on the hashtag with your response.

#LoreOutLoud by @darylmarez.bsky.social‬ is prompts to accompany the wip you’re posting about on Queer Authors. (Use a nib and a rainbow emoji to post to the Queer Authors feed.)

#QueerWritersChat begins 9pm EST, Friday nights. (Which is 1pm Saturday, in AEST in Aussie summer, 11am Saturday in our winter.)
This is a weekly chat in which the hosts Amara or Theo (who take turns hosting) will post 5 question prompts for participants to quote repost their answers.

Bsky Moderation Concerns

‘Violence’ and Moderation Fails

Here’s an thread of people criticising a mod for the mod fails of actual violent accounts (namely the Department of War account bragging about actual bombings its conducted and people its killed and receiving no punitive measure whatsoever), vs. survivors of child sexual abuse being suspended for criticising CSA. Another theme that comes up in this thread is inconsistency of suspensions and bans and adherence to the rules, which I have seen people suggest indicates both a transphobic and to a racist agenda, or cowardly compliance with same. These are all things I am personally concerned about on Bsky. (For perspective, I’ve deleted my Instagram and Facebook early in 2025 and my Twitter account in 2023.)

Ill Wishing & Trans Account Bands

A contentious moderation issue with Bsky is not ‘wishing ill upon people’ in its community guidelines. On one hand we have JK Rowling spending £70k for a UK Supreme Court definition of ‘woman’ that excludes trans women, and setting up a fund to finance the legal defence of women taken to court for their transphobic behaviour. (Source: LGBTQNation). On the other, multiple trans Bsky users who posted “I wish ill upon JK Rowling” were banned for 24 hours (August, 2025). Half of Bsky seemingly said the same thing at the time, but note that none of the cis people who wished ill on her were banned.

The thing that irks me about banning people for ‘wishing ill’ is the tone policing. An ill wish has no power to harm anyone. All banning it does is deny people furious at *points at every single thing the Trump Regime has done in 2025* a specific means of expressing their anger and frustration. Its saying, “You are only allowed to post angrily if you express your anger in accordance with our specifications, even if the manner of your posting does no actual harm to anyone, whatsoever.”

It looks to me like a rule that can be weaponised against trans, queer, black and disabled people -against any marginalised group- expressing anger at the (systemic) abuse of our rights, in 2025 and beyond. And the above isn’t the only controversial moderator situation we’ve seen on Bsky, others being listed in this post by Matthew Sheffield.

Link Jabiri’s BlackSky Ban

Then in October, it was Link Jabiri who was suspended (now banned). This got #BlackSky trending, as when he criticised Bsky moderator Jay, Link’s account was on #BlackSky. Being on #BlackSky means his data is preserved there, but as all Skies currently use the Bsky app to view posts, people mostly cannot view Link’s posts (at present). I haven’t seen the posts involved in this case, though this thread marks a stark contrast between Link and Bsky moderator Jay, in which Link comes off well, and its sentiment seems popular on Bsky, where Link is clearly well liked.

Its also worth noting that #BlackSky administrator Rudy’s explanation thread of this situation was more professional and informative, and had me respecting him more than anything any Bsky moderator has said.

Rise of New Skies; Bsky Diverse Alternatives

So, is there a way to interact on Bsky and not be subject to Bsky moderation? Is there a sky with its own equivalent of the Bsky app, so that even if, like Link, you’re banned on Bsky main, your posts are still visible on other skies? Not yet. But multiple Skies are in progress, or even taking on new users.

BlackSky

BlackSky is leading the charge. They already have Black Sky Community, to which black folks can migrate their Bsky account, including all posts and Bsky followers. BlackSky also has two other servers for non-black users, all of which is explained in their migration guide.

As Rudy said in his thread, BlackSky is already developing its own app, which will in time mean total independence for BlackSky from Bsky moderation.

For more information about BlackSky, including its community standards, how its moderated etc, see BlackSky Algorithms. If you wish to support BlackSky, you can become a subscriber.

Turtle.Sky (Indigenous & Allies)

This is for Indigenous and First Nations people and allies. This sky is up and running, and you can fill in a form to request to migrate your data to Turtle.Sky on their website; TurtleIs.land. As explained on their site, they are using Bsky infrastructure, so their moderation is ultimately subject to Bsky’s.

Turtle.Sky’s moderation includes its own set of rules, including particulars around Israel and Palestine, and mutual aid posts. So do read the rules carefully if you’re considering migrating to Turtle.Sky. They too have fundraising links on their site.

NorthSky (LGBTQIA+ & Marginalised people prioritised)

NorthSky is focused on LGBTQIA+ users and the marginalised groups we intersect with. They also have an option for non-marginalised users (which will be lower priority, meaning you would migrate later than, for eg. trans users). Their servers are based in Canada, meaning if you migrate to NorthSky, your Bsky data will move from the US to Canada.

The last newsletter I received from them reported that they are working with their alpha users to iron out some creases, before commencing the beta phase of NorthSky. When they enter beta, high priority (eg trans) users will be able to start migrating to NorthSky.

You can register for an invite to join NorthSky when its ready for you, via their webpage. You can also sign up to their newsletter for updates. I’ve already registered and having read (presumably in their newsletter as I can’t find it on their site) that they hope to federate with BlackSky and Turtle.Sky, I’m excited about this.

EuroSky Social

At the time of writing, EuroSky is about to have a big conference to explore future directions. The concerns listed on their website include the dominance of American and Chinese big tech in social media, and the addictivity of algorithms. Their sky is to operate in accordance with European laws, and aims to compete with big tech. (I wish them well!) They don’t seem to have a newsletter or waiting list at this point, so you might want to follow them on Bsky for updates.

Reverse Migration

Should your migration to another Sky/ PDS not work out, it is possible to migrate back to Bsky (main), as asserted by Bsky here.

Conclusion

If this blog is missing any feeds or Skies/ PDS’s you think are relevant to diverse people, feel free to contact me on Bsky or via my contact page.

I hope this blog helps you connect with your people, and perhaps find a sky you feel safer, more respected and or more generally comfortable on.

Related Reading

Bsky Newby Guide

Bsky & Other Pitch Parties (for writers)

Social Media; Connection, Isolation & Conversation

Avoiding Social Media Burnout