For Just Playing Around: Twitter’s Open-Source Offshoot Not Fit for Real Use

Bluesky or the open-source offshoot of Twitter is creating headlines in the digital world

As the whole world knows, while taking over Twitter Elon Musk raised the "Freedom of Speech" placard, which was one major source of his displeasure with the functioning of the microblogging site. Musk had hinted that he would initiate some measures in this regard. It was also clear that he has Bluesky, Twitter's open-source offshoot, as one of the domains fit for intervention. In a very recent act Bluesky has introduced Authenticated Data Experiment (ADX), a code for decentralized social network protocol. With all eyes fixed on Elon Musk and his possible impact on Twitter, it is no surprise that ADX is now drawing much attention from the tech world. But a closer look reveals that at least for the time being it might just remain a play area, with little scope for any effective use.

The initiative flags Elon Musk's ambition of utilizing up-end technologies for ensuring "open and decentralized public conversation". The Bluesky officials accordingly tweeted to let people know their zeal for the decentralized venture. "We've written about how we think a durable protocol requires self-authenticating components, which require no external evidence of authenticity. This way, even if people choose to use servers run by private companies, they'll never be locked in." It is no less important to note that the venture also aims to realize Musk's more specific plan of supporting open-source algorithms for Twitter and his professed 'commitment' to the expansion of freedom of speech. In terms of its techno-categorization, the ADX seeks to build up "speech" and "reach". The former refers to the provision of retaining generated data in Personal Data Repositories owned by the user/s; the latter provides the scope to see that data on a specific platform. It sounds like a grand innovative initiative. Then why should one 'regressively' think of it as constrained? There are reasons for doing so.

In an extremely candid move, Bluesky officially stated that the ADX initiative is to have a gradual development, and in no way it is complete. While the code can be accessed under the open-source MIT License the Bluesky CEO, Jay Graber, has categorically mentioned that much of it remains to be done and there are certain things "missing" in it. His invitation to access has come with a very significant rider that while one should "feel free to play around" with ADX one should not go to the extent of building the "next big social app" relying on it. There is thus a 'thus far and no further' boundary line. Venturing beyond the line will lead to fruitless results.

Then there is also the transparency issue. Some observers point out that just by uploading a code and not coming up with the details of the inner functioning of the platform the fundamental issues attached to the platformization of freedom of speech remain unaddressed. One provocative comment even strikes at the base of the initiative— that the ADX is so complicated, even for those who have composed it, that most Twitter users will not be able to make use of it.

In this backdrop one only finds Twitter's much-vaunted open-source offshoot long on lightness and short on real-term value.

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