Hey, @revisesociology.
Lots of views about just how far decentralization goes does make it difficult to pin down. And ultimately, those who have are going to have the advantage.
And that I don't mind so much, really. I don't need the charity or redistributed wealth of others. What I do mind is the illusion of being on a level playing field when that's not true.
So, I guess we now have a new fork coming and I guess those of us who go will find out whether or not our packing up and going will actually prove to be worth it. Since most of the same players who have been involved in STEEM are planning to go, I'm uncertain as to what exactly will change other than Steemit won't have a stake in it.
I guess we'll see what those involved in the move can actually do, and what ultimately they feel they should extract or receive for it (more of the new token, only goodwill from the users, whatever), or if it truly is a decentralized place, with no strings attached.