Well, it didn't, exactly. As with many inventions, in order to understand how today's Web developed, you have to look farther back than its official introduction. The seeds of the Web were planted ...

Tim Berners-Lee may have the smallest fame-to-impact ratio of anyone living. Strangers hardly ever recognize his face; on “Jeopardy!,” his name usually goes for at least sixteen hundred dollars.

Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, reminds us that his vision was always “based on sharing, not exploitation.” He gave the web away for free so everyone could use it, but warns that today, user ...