I agree. The notion that “They” (big bad publishers/media etc) are afraid of user-generated competition and that’s why we have asymmetric connections and a Web that works mainly for consumption, is misguided. We have those things because most people only have the quality of content to produce that you see witnessed in YouTube comments, or, would use any amplified platform to spam relentlessly their political opinions or some moneymaking scheme. There exist places like Wikipedia that do seem to embody those values of symmetry and democracy, but they require big compromises and a lot of formal processes of enforcement of community norms, in all a ton of work for people, in order to stay good.
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I agree. The notion that “They” (big bad publishers/media etc) are afraid of user-generated competition and that’s why we have asymmetric connections and a Web that works mainly for consumption, is misguided. We have those things because most people only have the quality of content to produce that you see witnessed in YouTube comments, or, would use any amplified platform to spam relentlessly their political opinions or some moneymaking scheme. There exist places like Wikipedia that do seem to embody those values of symmetry and democracy, but they require big compromises and a lot of formal processes of enforcement of community norms, in all a ton of work for people, in order to stay good.