That's a story that I can get behind, spinning the tale in a way that requires us to actually think instead of just react.  Thank you.

I believe the issue is that most people don't know what they are trying to get away from, or at least they can't define it very well so while we might be willing to try new things, we don't like it when something goes too far out of our comfort zone.  And the corporate silos have done a very good job of defining our comfort zone for us whether we knew it or not, or liked it or not.

I think the lists will exist no matter how much we protest against them. Because there will be demand out there for something to keep the illusion of walls and silos so that people can keep their comfort zones intact. And if that's the way they want to see the world, that's on them and the developers who cater to them. But there will always be the "rest of the internet" so if and when people see the walls of their holodeck, they can call for the exit and we will be here waiting for them.

Whatever tools that are built, I hope that they are transparent.  To the point that we can plug our npub into a search field and see every flag, every mute, every list and claimed association. That way we can understand where we are and why some people are having trouble seeing notes or whatever.  And so we can challenge them.  I'll acknowledge that these lists are going to be centralized in some way, they have to be. But by creating them, the programmers and relay managers should be identified as people to contact, not wizards in ivory towers, untouchable.