I think carefully defining and documenting different complex media types is incredibly valuable, at scales much smaller than “the whole internet”. For instance

I think carefully defining and documenting different complex media types is incredibly valuable, at scales much smaller than “the whole internet”. For instance, I think IMAP, CalDAV, CardDAV, JMAP, RSS and other similar standards add a ton of value to people’s lives. If you build a true, extensible, REST in its original meaning system, you’re contributing to this grand vision of interoperable utility. But I also agree with you that building interoperable standards is hard work with negative ROI for investors who aren’t trying to commoditize a complement somewhere. And so the IETF dream isn’t getting a ton of investment these days.