Commenting on Benkler

I commented on the "whole page" of Benkler's Wealth of Networks chapter 7 and it hasn't shown up, so here's hoping it will be approved by the author and won't just be deleted. Just FYI for everyone else, if you haven't already submitted. It's not an instantaneous addition to the website.

In short, my post to the chapter was, the internet is all great now that it's relatively new but not so new that no one knows how to use it. But it's becoming more regulated the more it's understood and able to fit into legislative schema (I'm thinking particularly of copyright laws). This isn't inherently bad, but it creates more constraints. China is becoming looser while the US is becoming more restricted. Will we meet in the middle, or will everything eventually become constrained as governments and corporations figure out how to get a firm grip on it? I think it's possible, though I imagine something new would take its place and we would start with a little more history than before and it will take less time to get the public sphere back in full strength again, and less time to tighten up. I do see it cycling through development and freedom to restraint and outdatedness faster and faster.