Why do you find central corporate control to be a defining feature? I am drawn much more to the technical features of the system. I think of IRC, Mastadon, a

Why do you find central corporate control to be a defining feature? I am drawn much more to the technical features of the system. I think of IRC, Mastadon, and Jabber as social networks; If you rule out Jabber it seems to me you must also rule out AIM. Perhaps we're fumbling for a new vocabulary term, and "Social network" is too vague to be effective.