ChiefestOfCalamities

I don't see why we can't just stay on the fediverse, enjoy threads as long as meta wants to play ball, and then wave goodbye when they decide they don't want to federate anymore. Nobody's forcing anyone to move from the fediverse to meta, and I think the current demographic here is unlikely to volunteer for another walled garden experience.

Worst case scenario is we end up right back where we are now- a niche community prioritizing independence and decentralization.

I'm guessing you're in favor of counterfeiting currency, then?

It sounds to me like you weren't the only person the company was screwing with. Once everybody started comparing notes, that company was dead in the water.

Hit the nail on the head. Elon and spez don't need to keep anywhere close to all their users for this to be a success. From a business perspective, they could lose a quarter of their users and still come out stronger if it means they've monetized the rest. Then add in the additional bonus of getting rid of all your ideological, principled troublemakers, leaving you with a platform full of high quality, addicted users that are easy to take advantage of. I don't like it, but it really is a sensible strategy from a monetization perspective.