[jklein11]

I think you are on to something with the customers steering the platform.

I want to use a VPN if I am joining a network that I don't necessarily trust(guest wifi, coffee shop, etc.) I want to use a VPN so my ISP can't sell my browsing history to advertisers. I don't really care about if the VPN provider logs my traffic to make sure no one is abusing the service. I don't even care that much if someone subpoenas my traffic as long as I find out about it.

I wonder if a coop model would be a good fit? It would weed out all of the people who want to use it to hide their torrent traffic, etc. It would be very difficult to acquire the VPN just for the data, as each of the users are the owners. Everyone would have a right to know about subpoenas because they are part owners in the organization.

[nesky]

Do you have any examples of how a coop model would work for a service based business like a VPN? My feelings on VPN services like these will churn and burn in the long run.

As these services acquire extensive customer bases that on the face of it are trying to mask their activity (not saying this is bad) they're going to be bought out.