If you had to convince folks that the fediverse / activitypub isn’t decentralization and all the perils of the former, what stories/anecdotes/tech arguments work best?

Imo federated systems address server-to-server decentralization - eg, whether a threads.net can talk to a threads.social server

But what users really want is not this, but to prevent threads.net from cancelling/bricking user.Me!

Blockhains provide such server-to-user decentralization, solving the actual user problem

building /bracket | hosting /greatbooks + /gray | ex-BCG, ex-PHD | poli + phil + econ

there's always going to be the ability for an app to have to suppress a user (otherwise spam or bot protections wont work). i think the answer is those folks can then go to another spot?

Yes – not just user's ability to emigrate, but do so *with their things of value* is what I see blockchain as built to protect in most direct and credible way

Apparently, this lack of "portability" was the critique that BlueSky team expressed about ActivityPub:

20. hacking @ https://www.spire.dev/ 
previously intern Nethermind, epns.io

Yes – not just user's ability to emigrate, but do so *with their things of value* is what I see blockchain as built to protect in most direct and credible way

Apparently, this lack of "portability" was the critique that BlueSky team expressed about ActivityPub: https://atproto.com/guides/faq#why-not-use-activitypub