is there even a way to do federated social stuff without it devolving into games of intrigue and diplomacy
I already had some discussion in the comments here, but yeah it's not inherent to federation, federation just makes it exponential.
But I also don't think it's inherent to any given medium, outside of the fact that we currently don't have many proven structures to thwart it. Because if one side decides to start angling politically, you've got no choice but to solidify the opposing faction and resist it, or they win by fiat.
