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.

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.