Because evolvable systems have always been adapted to earlier conditions and are always being further adapted to present conditions, they are always behind the times. No evolving protocol is ever perfectly in sync with the challenges it faces. As with the list of the Web's obvious deficiencies above, it is easy to point out what is wrong with any evolvable system at any point in its life. However, the ability to understand what is missing at any given moment does not mean that one person or a small central group can design a better system in the long haul. Centrally designed protocols start out strong and improve logarithmically.
Evolvable protocols start out weak and improve exponentially.
It's dinosaurs vs. mammals, and the mammals win every time. The Web is not the perfect hypertext protocol, just the best one that's also currently practical. Infrastructure built on evolvable protocols will always be partially incomplete, partially wrong and ultimately better designed than its competition. And the Web is just a dress rehearsal. Voice Over IP, High-Definition TV and Digital Video Disc, respectively.