> So.. I like this direction, but haven't the "decentralized social network" been tried a few times already? What different this time?
It seems to be all an evolution. Gnu Social -> OStatus -> ActivityPub -> PeerTube.
As all things open source, every few years, a new innovation builds on top of already established communities and tries something new. True, ActivityPub / Masteodon are relatively new, but the roots of the network are well planted in the general Fediverse.