if they use the protocol but don't retain the openness, is it really nostr?

you could have said the same exact thing about http/s comparing the late 90s openness (not even encrypted mostly!) to now.

the expression 'world wide web' once had the same connotations of freedom.

it was in contrast to things like AOL and Compuserv silos of the 80s and 90s.

don't despair - we are making sure that they don't get the same monopoly on software distribution that would be critical to strangling free relays and clients.

and by the way, this is going to, by definition, extend to web browsers, capturing them is going to be easy, relatively speaking, once they capture the githubs and atlassians etc.

personally, i can see even linux and git itself being targets of regulatory/oligarchy capture as well.

so, yeah, we are already on the case, doing what we can.

with all the scum and villainy around teh internet, it can be hard for those with funds to identify those with the vision, ethics and capacity to build the solutions to this kind of capture, so it takes time for the chaff to be shaken out and the resources gotten to those who are going to do the right thing.

but the only way for it to happen is to prove it with some real solutions deployed on one's own back. this is where i am at in my work currently.