With all messaging apps that gets introduced these days, how come the only one that we all actually uses is email? Because it's decentralized! It used to be that we designed protocols for the internet, and now we instead build services on HTTP. Simply because you won't make money by writing RFCs that anyone can implement. But as we think all these new apps are moving us forward, the reality is if I really want to be sure someone can read my message, I must use a 40 year old protocol.
And people focused on HTTP because it mostly worked as everyone adopted NAT routers, as home networks grew beyond what your local expert was willing to support. NAT's implied firewall made security (and uselessness) the default, and was good enough to get paid.
You can see other echos of NAT in today's slow adoption of IPv6... Since lots of software thinks it can safely run on a LAN without you caring about it, lots of systems (even Linux environments) start up with that in mind (even if only subtly, by listening on all interfaces instead of just localhost), and that fosters the fear of dropping that NAT firewall, which is the obstacle to decentralized (and truly competitive) services.
Due in no small part to the profession of network administration deciding that "security" was in fact not about writing secure software, but configuring firewalls to block every port but 80.
Sealed by the decision of ISPs to provide a piddly 1m up even on lines with 50m down, disallow inbound connections to residential modems, etc.
