> We - and I don't mean "hackers", I mean most people if you asked the question straight - do not need or want middlemen for something as basic as communication

> We - and I don't mean "hackers", I mean most people if you asked the question straight - do not need or want middlemen for something as basic as communication or trust. That's what it boils down to. The fatal flaw in this argument is asking the person. Very few will say 'I want a middle man in my news', but at the same time few will question that middle man. Quite to the contrary, they will spread that middleman's link to everyone they know through Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, etc. This even happens on Hacker News (e.g. constant TechCrunch and HuffingtonPost articles). Often times people will say what paints them in the best light. They will answer questions not in the context of what they would actually do but what they would do if they were whom they imagine themselves to be.