Yes I've seen a few people experience this hell as well. To just call it a UI abstraction is completely detached from reality and how it's implemented.
The first sentence only experiencing diminishing returns can be read negative. Also everything is easier/cheaper/faster than ever for individuals and small companies to enter the hardware space.
You actually can pilot a plane without a license after some instruction and passing a medical exam. The main thing getting a license changes is the ability to fly others.
A user shouldn't have to email a cofounder to get in touch with a team member. The last time I integrated stripe on a site as a final test before it went live I had my cousin make a purchase and the site got flag as potential money laundering because we had the same last name. At the time literally zero customer service. It took 8 years before stripe started doing any customer support. Cool launch pages but personally I'll never use stripe again
There's a site that authenticates pieces for him: https://www.pestcontroloffice.com/whatispco.html although I don't think they'll authenticate the counterfeit Diana notes he made and obviously that wouldn't stop with approval.
None of the drops in that chart are even remotely comparable. Even the local maximum to the 52 week low over the course of months is smaller so hardly "way more". Its the largest drop in market cap in a single day ever, so its pretty uncharted territory whether a company can recover or not.
> my friend count went way down, my friend quality went way up.
I too quit around then, and I think I feel that most on my birthday. I only hear from probably a tenth the people but now when they remember on their own and text/call it means a lot more.