Gregory's Server@wjmaggos getting back in the habit of paying for online services with money instead of data is a good development. but choice of provider is not a silver bullet. there are good reasons why we have central food health inspections. checking if a provider is trustworthy requires a skilset that should not be necessary to just use a messenger. just as I don't want to bring a lab in a restaurant just to know the food is save to eat.
@Bindestriche
there's two ways to ensure good service, democratic oversight/control or economic competition. neither are perfect. Signal seems great right now but I don't see the incentives for that to maintain.
I guess there's also dog fooding, that the people who rely on something have the power to keep it good. the model of lots of FOSS projects and Wikipedia I guess.