There's literally nothing stopping us from using them again. Usenet is still a thing. Forum software still exists and continues to be maintained. I never used B

There's literally nothing stopping us from using them again. Usenet is still a thing. Forum software still exists and continues to be maintained. I never used BBS, but I can't see why it can't be brought back. The problem is that dreaded network effect. We can choose differently, but if all your friends choose the walled garden, you're left out in the cold. No one's forcing you to do anything, but it sure gets lonely, doesn't it? So we follow the crowd. But we can start the exodus any time we want, and maybe others will follow. Maybe when enough of us do so, we'll reach a tipping point and the network effects can work to our benefit.