Build a useful public space, and people will come. But the more people use it, the more the value of the space is degraded, until it ultimately fails to fulfill the purpose for which it was created. Thus, success leads inevitably to failure. The Net is proof that this concept is fully translatable to the digital sphere. A victim of its own incredible success, the Net has seen its once manageable common space glutted with information both relevant and nonsensical.
Content fights a losing battle with spam.
Flame wars rage unabated on every mailing list, newsgroup, bulletin board and chat room. And each new user unwittingly adds to the problem. Anti-spam measures, both open and covert, are constantly in use on Usenet newsgroups. And the owners of proprietary chat rooms and websites featuring discussion areas have grown increasingly intolerant of off-topic content and abusive users. I can't participate in this anymore.