I agree with you, with a couple exceptions. I think it's an error (and a frequently made one) to treat "the masses" as being distinct from the curious, virtuous

I agree with you, with a couple exceptions. I think it's an error (and a frequently made one) to treat "the masses" as being distinct from the curious, virtuous hackers trying to build with the tools they were given. The difference in many cases is just how much they were encouraged to create, either by the example of others or by the tech itself. If we always treat consumers as strictly consumers instead of fellow humans in a process of mutual improvement... that's what we'll tend to get. Why do we on the one hand claim to have a need for more STEM workers or more competency in this or that, then on the other hand sell devices that coddle users and waste their time? Productivity tools are often behind big paywalls. I won't enumerate all the ways mainstream computing sucks, but our manipulation machines actively discourage people from engaging more positively with tech, not to mention each other. It's not very encouraging to me that Open Source is growing in absolute size when it is struggling so much in terms of mindshare. The other thing to address is about being "independent online". Many of the things that make it so easy to create a website, for example, are made easy at a cost, i.e. vendor lock-in and rent for continued service. Or github will host your code but also use it for their own purposes, training your AI replacement. Those are ultimately good things to have around but do follow the trend of being cages-with-benefits --they increase dependence on central infrastructure.