People need to just chill out and touch some grass.
Like how long have you been on the internet? If the whole federation thing can be bought out by a company and ruined, then it’s a failed experiment and we move on to the next thing. It’s a tale as old as the internet itself, cool grassroots thing gets popular, sells out, destroys itself, repeat every few years.
For now, kbin and lemmy are working, but don’t think this will last forever or won’t get tested. Either the concept is good and it will stand the test of corporate takeover, or it won’t and we try something else.
There is another aspect, sometimes a CEO is brought on in a knowingly temporary situation. Sometimes a company needs to make an “unpopular” decision, like massive layoffs or restructuring. Or they just need a CEO to come in and stir the pot. They’ll bring the CEO in, they’ll do their thing, and then once the deed is done, they will “decide it’s best to part ways” in some form.
This sort of CEO position usually is a one and done for that person making them a less desirable candidate for employment in the future, so they get a nice golden parachute to compensate. Basically, they get paid to be the “bad guy” and are essentially selling themselves as a scapegoat for the company.