In some respects, the 1990s and 2000s were a massive regression over the 70s and 80s. For some of us, at least. In the 80s, computer users were not segregated

In some respects, the 1990s and 2000s were a massive regression over the 70s and 80s. For some of us, at least. In the 80s, computer users were not segregated as producers and consumers as strongly as it happened with the consolidation of closed systems. They came with schematics, they openly explained every internal function and design. Under the guise of simplification and layers of abstraction, most of the users and even developers have been progressively denied control over their computing devices. Smalltalk and LISP based systems proposed a leaky abstraction model were every user could delve as deep as he wanted into the system, which enforces a degree of openness that is very inconvenient for monetisation of the system itself. Which is why they were suppressed (by simply allocating resources on producer-consumer models, easy to sell and most importantly easier to monetise as the provider becomes the master). Note that this culture is extremely hard to eradicate as people stick to what they know and a total shift is unlikely to meet with collaboration from the companies that profit from said control.