Interoperability becomes an issue though. FLOSS and federated systems help there, but we all know the big providers aren’t going to play ball. Unless we rebuild the whole stack from the ground up, proprietary systems are always going to try to funnel everyone into vendor lock-in and platform monopolies. This is the end result of choices that were made 30 years ago, based on assumptions that didn’t hold up, but none of us now dealing with the consequences, had any say in making.
That proprietary walled gardens were inherently more stable and user friendly. That private companies would, by their nature, incest whatever it took to maximize the quality of their products to maintain competitive advantage. That corporate consolidation could never become a vulnerability in its own right.
Interoperability becomes an issue though. FLOSS and federated systems help there, but we all know the big providers aren’t going to play ball. Unless we rebuild the whole stack from the ground up, proprietary systems are always going to try to funnel everyone into vendor lock-in and platform monopolies. This is the end result of choices that were made 30 years ago, based on assumptions that didn’t hold up, but none of us now dealing with the consequences, had any say in making.
What assumptions are you referring to?
That proprietary walled gardens were inherently more stable and user friendly. That private companies would, by their nature, incest whatever it took to maximize the quality of their products to maintain competitive advantage. That corporate consolidation could never become a vulnerability in its own right.