One big problem is search. Search determines what we see (outside of what we learn of from our peers or primary sources of info). A "cacophony of different si

One big problem is search. Search determines what we see (outside of what we learn of from our peers or primary sources of info). A "cacophony of different sites and voices" may be more fair, but it isn't very useful. Most people shouldn't have a public voice, because most people don't have anything valuable (or accurate) to say. This includes me, of course, on many subjects. But here on HN, if many people think that my comments are garbage, they vote me down and at least new readers will be somewhat forewarned that my content may be of questionable value. Search was first supposed to help us find things. But when there were too many things to find, it should have helped us identify the good stuff. Instead, search is now 90% bogus results that are generated to help steer people to a particular product or service. So honestly, some walled gardens where people reasonably knowledgeable about the local subject can affect the visibility of the content within the silo, at least visitors less able to discern good from bad will probably see more good than bad. Of course, sites need money to operate, so then comes the corruption of the system. Even sites that try to be neutral still end up making some concessions in order to get funded by some source (and the corporations or political groups have the money, so they end up with influence).