> Thank you so much for the kind words. There isn't a lot of that going around on today's internet with its ephemeral interactions, dopamine-driven engagement, and deep polarization. I too often allow this disposition to infect my own arguments and occasionally lean too heavily into emotion.

You’re welcome, I too find my disposition infected from time to time.

> VC firms are certainly thinking this over. Google, Apple, and the rest put a ceiling over what portcos can ultimately grow up into, and they can even force M&A when in a different world that would be a subpar outcome. These firms and mid-cap tech companies can be a powerful voice to help shape regulation.

I’m skeptical that this will happen in an environment of deregulation. However, it is possible that we’ll see change on a longer timeline.

> Google, as a sum of its parts, is frankly undervalued. They aren't properly monetizing all of their properties.

I couldn’t agree more. Every time I see Google kill a product line, it bothers me that it wasn’t spun off into its own company.

> Freeing the markets up again will make everyone collectively so much more innovative and profitable.

I’m not sure if I subscribe to the belief that markets were ever free. I do agree that we should do as much as we can to open them up though.

> I hope we see change soon.

Indeed, I simply hope we can see a return to reasoned discourse.

Thank you again echelon. May the winds ever be to your back, the sun to your face, and free markets on your horizon.