Email and Usenet are both decentralized systems that in theory aren't affected by instance admin bitchfights anywhere near to the level of drama in the fediverse. Yes: many providers didn't mirror the binary groups due to piracy, and in email, deliverability is a constant issue thanks to spammers.

But the fediverse? Can't count how many times I've seen instance admins hold their users hostage in bitchfights over the Israel/Palestine stance of other instance admins.