If there was more value in requiring login than there is in having this public and easily accessible, it would be behind a login form. The current internet has 99% of the time nothing to do with values someone imagined in the 80s
Of course, none of those people own Twitter, and it may well be more valuable to its owners if it does require a login.
There was no web in the 80s so not sure what values you refer to, or how they are relevant to today's businesses.
What do you think the webs value was imagined to be in the “80s”?