[pmarreck]

Rationally, I understand what you're saying, speaking as someone who was intrigued by Bitcoin in 2012 and possibly made a little money off it while I was interested in it.

Humanistically, I gotta say, perceptions matter. I left crypto because it just started "tasting gross", regardless of the technological interest I had. Clearly, I wasn't in a minority with that.

[yellowapple]

The Internet tastes pretty gross these days, too, what with the dominant business model being surveillance-driven marketing.

[pmarreck]

I hear you, but these excellent YouTube recommendations and Google App stories tuned so precisely to my interests wouldn't even be remotely as good unless I permitted myself to be data-surveilled. I can't tell you how much I've learned via these (whether informational or entertaining). (Note: I pay for YouTube, because it is an excellent service.)

As penance for this, I will cite Martin Fowler's excellent essay on why privacy is necessary for at least some: https://martinfowler.com/articles/bothersome-privacy.html