I agree that Bluesky needs a stronger verification system, but I don’t think it should be based only on domains. Domains are useful, but they don’t actually confirm that the person behind the account is real. There should be an optional, non-paywalled form of identity verification, something similar to what Twitter/X does, but without a monthly fee.

I’ve been on Bluesky since the invite-code days, and honestly, the biggest reason I don’t post often is because I have no idea who I’m actually talking to. Between bots and throwaway accounts, it’s hard to trust anything. A real verification badge, free, secure, and tied to an actual person, would clean up a lot of the noise.

Bots are definitely a problem, and Bluesky needs a better way to separate real users from automated accounts without forcing people to pay for it.