Long ago, in the mists of time when I was a wee lad, the internet was a simpler place. There were seven buttons around the world, all pressed down by volunteers. If any four of them were released, the world would end. “The world” was defined as “the internet”, and at the time that meant “the world” was defined as “men with beards and suspenders and real opinions about Star Trek”, and so that wasn’t so bad.

Today in 2019, “the world” is defined as “you know, the world“, and there are seven million buttons being held down all over the world.

If any four of them are released, the world ends.

We have made mistakes, is what I’m saying.

(I once had call to explain to nontechnical people how and why the internet is the way it is and why my ops crews tend to be full of people who are a little too calm about things being constantly on fire. This was my best crack at it.)