(for demonstration purposes only, please don't think I'm like this)
I think these are fair points. and I can't say I blame anyone for wanting Meta/FB out of their life entirely. I see value in both options - the option of having maximum connectivity to others, and the option of having only parties that are considered to be in good ethical standing. And I'm glad the fediverse can offer both options to everyone. For me personally, having communications cut between users based on who is hosting their instance is a last resort.
I don't need any sort of isolationism pushed on me. I wouldn't sign up for an email provider that blocks GMail because "we're not corpo bootlickers", or a phone provider that only lets me call the coolest fellow comrades. If an instance wants to be its own little island with its own ideology, I'm cool with that, but it's not for me - I'm looking for an instance that behaves more like an un-opinionated public utility.
I think it shows some of the strengths of federated networks. If the owners of a small proprietary social network ghosted their project, it would take a huge effort to try to replace it, which would be insurmountable for many communities. But in this case, a community can fork onto a new server pretty quickly and seamlessly.
They've raised over $80 million. Investor money is a poison, and the only antidote is enshittification.
I could be wrong, but I don't see a path forward for Biden, and I think the Israel/Palestine conflict is a big part of it. It's so polarizing among Democrats/leftists. Biden will either be viewed as a genocide supporter or an anti-semite, and it's very difficult to find any sort of middle-ground. I don't think Republicans are as emotionally invested in it - they just don't want to see too much money sent away.
Software developer. Having my home constantly phoning home to megacorporations sounds creepy, but more importantly, none of these smart home products solve a problem. They just add additional points of failure to appliances that have historically been sufficiently reliable.
200mg of caffeine makes me feel ill. 390mg in a lemonade is insane. wtf
Different times. When I was growing up, a sex scene in a movie might be one of very few opportunities where you got to see a pair of boobs, unless you could get someone to buy you a porno magazine or VHS tape. These days, there are probably millions of options in this area, instantly accessible. And Hollywood-produced nude/sex scenes are all going to be fake and cringy in comparison.
This can certainly be done as long as we stick to the five core values - take ownership, take the leap, act with integrity, put the customer first, and dare to innovate.
I don't think Steam supports any sort of sliding scale system and they have a price parity rule which would be broken by offering it elsewhere