There are analogous solutions for another public good in private hands: journals. There are even levers the scholarly community could pull to incentivize an analogous migration:
CleverLibre Social is an inclusive social instance for open discussion, learning, and community.
All cultures welcome.
Hate speech and harassment strictly forbidden.
@LouisIngenthron
Good point (knocking on wood)!
But I'd describe GMail not as taking over, but rather captulating. Same sad effect, different actors (transitive vs. intransitive verbs).