@doug Seeing Eugen's response to requests in that space over the years, I'm convinced it would take a fork, indeed. (and since it's his toy, he gets to choose what his take on Fediverse software development focuses on.)
Or moving to different software. For example, GoToSocial seems to be more interested in implementing safety features (with some done, some in the pipeline).
The observation that it takes a fork is usually where the story ends, though. I wonder how much of that is learned helplessness from similar campaigns over at Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, Reddit et al where the only alternative to "complain and succeed in getting things on the roadmap" has been "complain and nothing happens".
The fediverse _does_ provide more options (such as forking), but they require somebody to take action.