I have not heard of that distinction. I am guessing that a scribal culture creates and generate writings while a literate culture consumes them. I am not sure

I have not heard of that distinction. I am guessing that a scribal culture creates and generate writings while a literate culture consumes them. I am not sure if that is a good analogy. Maybe it is. By the “road not taken” though, I mean something that is more difficult to pull off, and it does not monetize well, if ever. I am thinking, for example, Christopher Alexander’s work on pattern languages. That is, designing a pattern language in such a way that the end users can always create the right thing for themselves. Something like the ideas behind Smalltalk, where you don’t need a computer science degree to customize. Instead, it got turned into OOP Gang of Four. A smaller artisan class of software engineers and product managers to determine what the best design for the end user. Add A/B testing, growth hacks, dark patterns, and customer validation, we have the engine of growth for startups to return multiples for investors. I grew up in the 80s and 90s where the magical experience of computing had a lot yo do with creating those environments. Now, flip side. I have also read a history of MMOs that, the author concludes that the all time most successful MMO is Roblox. Players make games for each other, and there are some revenue sharing. There is a pattern language in the design, but otherwise, there is a great deal of freedom to make stuff. It still netted a good return for shareholders. So maybe that ship has not sailed yet. But to come back to that question I posed: is Roblox value-adding? If so, what is it contributing that could not have been done without it?