Post

I have a whole folder of ATProto apps on iOS (plus a select few directly on my Home Screen). Today we call them “ATproto” apps. In the future … they’re just a better way to build a wide range of apps, where users own their data, login in anywhere, and choose different interfaces.

Genuinely, I wish it was called something else, something a bit more... consumer-friendly? I always found "Nostr" quite friendly, despite the protocol being a minefield. It's (annoyingly) still nicer to say "Login with Bluesky" instead of "Login with ATProto".

"sign in with your ATmosphere account" seems a little better.

I am deferring comment on off-the-cuff naming and branding. This needs real research of a wider group of people who aren't early adopters, and @christian.bsky.social is taking some of this on discourse.atprotocol.community/t/research-p...

Yeah, I’m getting regular feedback from normies who do have Bluesky accounts and were confused by what an “ATProto handle” or “ATProto account” mean. Maybe an example on the entry box that says “yourhandle.bsky.social” will help, but it confused even people who were willing to search online.

Also thinking that letting people enter “joebob” or “@joebob” and have the app try that as “joebob.bsky.social” is a sane default for the foreseeable future. #ATDev

I don't like that idea because while it's CONVENIENT, I think it pushes users towards ways of thinking about things that will come back to bite them and us in the long run.

It also further cements bluesky's central position in the ecosystem in users' minds, and if we're trying to push forward the idea of atproto as an ecosystem and not just "bluesky" that's not something we want to do.

(Bluesky IS undeniably central to the ecosystem and will likely remain so for a long time, but I don't think that's something we want to enshrine, and it's going to create the misconception that you MUST have an account with bluesky to be on the ATmosphere, which is false)

(At the same time, bluesky has vastly more brand recognition than ATproto in the public's eyes and we don't want to be user-hostile for the sake of ideology, we're not Mastodon. So I do see the argument for it. It's a tough line to walk!)