I get a completely different image from that passage in the article. I imagine both certificate authorities, and the domain system as great examples of mistaken

I get a completely different image from that passage in the article. I imagine both certificate authorities, and the domain system as great examples of mistakenly necessitating middlement in a systemically flawed manner. With regards to the second passage, I suggest you address the literal wording instead of putting your own (strange?) spin on it. The author is pointing out that the value in the facebook post is from the user, your friend, aka a human. The fact that Berliners renting rooms out to a visiting Parisian will be using an AirBNB middleman versus the model a Craigslist entails, being essentially free classified ads. One can discuss WHY things are the way they are, but do try to get the basic gist of what the author is trying to communicate.