Interesting that there is no equivalent of a public square in the digital space. Wikipedia maybe, but it feels more like a library with steep rules rather than a plaza.
Maybe email, it's not easy to connect with people. But it's not easy to strike up random conversation in a plaza either. Email + html web, which is privates making data public, but close enough
The reason that twitter became "the place where a nobody could talk to an expert" (at the time it wasn't the place to mob experts) was the utter design failure of email against spam. Nowadays people don't publish their email address publicly and spam filters are likely to silently delete the message you sent.
(Twitter is a failure too, now)
The moment it was purchased by an individual, it became a symbol of those who believe single individuals (with money) should hold that kind of power.
I'm seeing a lot of email surviving right now. Especially plain text emails. Refuses to die, one of the most neutral protocols after IP and DNS
The problem is information asymmetry. If I get scammed or treated badly in person in a real public space, I can immediately punch the perpetrator. In a digital public square, I will most likely not even know who "attacked" me. That's how email and Twitter became unusable: anonymous spam
You can only have the digital version with real people logged in, living in the area and running the Square.
I'm pretty bullish on fediverse-like concepts in the long term even if US social becomes a dystopian hellscape.
Hmm... goes looking into why Socrates was executed... corrupting the youth and impiety?!?!?
"The more things change, the more they stay the same" -- not Socrates