IMO, the problem is not centralization. There were a few centralized/cooperative entities in the 80s/90s. Much of the backbone of the formative internet was fun

IMO, the problem is not centralization. There were a few centralized/cooperative entities in the 80s/90s. Much of the backbone of the formative internet was funded and supported by universities and other government organizations that largely subsidized the operation of the internet. What changed/evolved was the profit motive to operate and control the internet. I think mastodon and the other reimplement-just-not-centralized projects struggle because they don’t have a low/non profit central patron. But no one really does software platform as a public service much anymore. Even something like GitHub, which starts out feeling that way, gets bought, and then starts to drift towards profit feedback motives.