I guess that is fair. Some could argue "intent of code" ala Dan Larimer to differentiate between the two, but I've never found that to be a convincing argument. I guess this comes down to an "optics" thing. I think it might be cleaner to start a new chain rather than to fork, but I can see how certain parties might interest in a fork versus just starting a new blockchain.

Steem is based more on governance and deciding (sometimes unilaterally by Steemit) on the 'best' approach.

Which is why I use and participate with Steem based on it's representational (and entertainment) value rather than treating it as "hard" money. That being said, forking is built into the code, so regardless of what one considers the action, such a proposal is built into the rules of this game.