The openness of the web, just as the openness of the Americas (when first discovered), will inevitably turn into a demarcation of borders and "property" dispute

The openness of the web, just as the openness of the Americas (when first discovered), will inevitably turn into a demarcation of borders and "property" dispute. The first settlers here had free reign, the land was truly "open" just as the Internet was truly "open". When it is so open that eventually the masses adopt it - it goes from being an open entity to a closed entity because diversity of opinion is so wide amongst the masses that it [the public as an entity] seeks to control it and manage it (movement from expansion/openness to contraction/closedness). An interesting example of social entropy. Where will open, free, and innovative grounds be then? On the leading edge. http://gnunet.org http://gnunet.org, FreeNet, VPNs, and even privately wired LANs are the best examples I can think of right now but who know what the future will bring? Maybe the next wave of open and neutral communications will be in the growth of the DSN (Deep Space Network) as humans slowly take to the stars? I see true open horizons less and less on the web now and a resurgence of the explorer taking to places untouched by the majority; I see that most in privatized space, space tourism, and hopefully space colonization. You will rarely ever find true "open" or "neutral" proclivities amongst the many - you can only find it amongst Individuals of whom the hacker community is largely made up of. Politicians serve the masses and not the Individual, you will never get the politicians to embody leading edge ideas because they will never be elected since mass-consciousness by definition cannot be leading edge. I'm repeating myself now. I just wanted to say: I do wish the web could stay as open as it has been or was even ten years ago but as more people adopt it and use it the less open it becomes; look for the ability to share knowledge and information anonymously through software like GNUnet and FreeNet or VPN or LAN networks. Look for the next wave of revolutionary ideas, platforms, and social change to occur through leading edge spaces. The Internet is no longer leading edge to those that have been riding this wave - look for the next one! (for me, the next one is (again) privatized space)