> It just doesn't make any sense to me how people expect that you can use a web service without the webservice like...knowing that you're using it? This is tru

> It just doesn't make any sense to me how people expect that you can use a web service without the webservice like...knowing that you're using it? This is true, but what you seem to disregard is that [webservice] can monetize differently. You can set up your own forum for almost free, or your community could pool a couple of bucks each month for server cost. You can use some experimental p2p mesh hosting for your conversations. You can charge users a low low price for the cost of your service. Or you can sell userdata like facebook et al. All these services would know everything I'm willing to share with users on said service, but how that data is used could be very different. Wanting to both share your data and have that data used scrupulously isn't having/eating your cake. It's very reasonable and possible. Maybe not for free, but close to.