[NoboruWataya]

> No one has got federated systems to work as nicely as centralised ones yet.

They never will. Federated systems have certain advantages over centralised ones. One of the principal advantages is that it allows hosting costs to be shared more widely, which means you don't need a single entity with hundreds of thousands of dollars to maintain the thing. Another is that toxic communities can be more easily isolated from the rest (so that the communities you like don't become quickly overwhelmed by racists).

One of the disadvantages is that there is more friction than a single, centralised system. It is, by definition, not as seamless. The seams are the feature. It's just the trade-off you make.