unfortunately, no, the AGPL does not avoid the problem I meant. it looks like I was unclear in my depiction: the local operator is the user, but that wasn't supposed to mean that there wouldn't be remote customers interacting with it. the AGPL doesn't distinguish whose computing the program does and, as such, it can be (and is) misused to impose unjust subjugation on operators, when the computing the component does is the operators'. it also forces inefficient integrations to keep components in separate programs.

but that doesn't mean AGPL is bad. it's a great tool to defend remote users' freedoms, but like most tools, it can be put to harmful uses.