Versant stock rose 10 percent. The Q1 report highlights new ways to monetize access. They call it licensing. We call it rent seeking. They call it platforms. We call it digital toll booths.

The extraction methods are becoming more efficient.

• Licensing agreements to drain remaining value.
• Platform expansion to trap users.
• Revenue growth fueled by tighter control.

The market rewards the movement toward total extraction. Shareholders celebrate the rise. The decay continues.