The Siege of the Commons
In the early web, protocols were the primary way people interacted. Email (SMTP) and the Web (HTTP) were agnostic standards. However, the rise of Web 2.0 shifted power to centralized platforms that "capture" users inside walled gardens. The "Protocol Wars" is the effort by digital archaeologists, sovereign individuals, and developers to reclaim the interoperability of the early web.
Field Notes
The Enclosure: Platforms win by making themselves "convenient" while slowly removing the ability for data to leave. This leads to Enshittification as the platform becomes a rent-seeker rather than a service provider.
The Counter-Offensive: The "Federated" or "Decentralized" web (Fedi) is a major front in the Protocol Wars. By adhering to open protocols, users can communicate across different servers and apps, breaking the platform monopoly.