If a rich, interconnected 3D world at the scale of the WWW added significant value, then interest and uptake of Croquet would have taken off 10+ years ago. Croq

If a rich, interconnected 3D world at the scale of the WWW added significant value, then interest and uptake of Croquet would have taken off 10+ years ago. Croquet is technology-wise as close to the science fiction ideal of the Metaverse as anything that has existed: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cobalt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Cobalt https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet_OS https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Croquet_OS With Croquet, you could literally jump from, say, your favorite 3D game into a virtual business meeting, controlling your same avatar, and without either 3D space being hosted by the same entity--directly or indirectly. It's the embodiment of some of the most fanciful visions of a Metaverse, and it has existed for quite some time. But Croquet hasn't taken off, despite intensive efforts, which tells me that not only will our 2D interfaces continue to stick around, the 2D digital world is likely to remain overwhelmingly predominate for quite some time still. At least outside isolated islands. And in any event, I don't see how that could change unless and until a fundamentally open, interconnected, and extensible platform like Croquet sees adoption. A world of closed gardens could never be as immersive and expansive. As large as Facebook has become (and as AOL before it), it simply doesn't and couldn't have the same underlying impact as the WWW collectively. [1] NB: the Wikipedia article for Croquet_project now forwards to Croquet_OS, a commercial project. I hope Croquet OS finds success. I can understand the thinking that on the modern internet new technologies necessarily require commercial backing. But ultimately I think that's a reflection of some fundamental dilemmas on the modern internet regarding the uptake of new technologies; a dilemma that likely has no real solution unless or until something else comes out of left field to toss the ecosystem into disarray. That something is unlikely to be the Metaverse because otherwise Croquet or something substantially similar would have already taken off long ago.