That's not what I mean.

Every day 200,000 people start websites and projects which they think will be the next Google.

None of them succeed.

The only path is to either go the scam route, as crypto currencies usually do, or to find a genuine use case and build it.

Most people do not really have an interest in 'freedom of speech' unless it involves their interest, like buying drugs. Now marijuana is legalized so that crew shrinks down to people who want to buy heroin or whatever, a smaller group because government has absorbed all the weed smokers by making it legal.

What is a use case which most people support, but which is prevented by government?

That girl who wants to provide access to subscription science articles is one example.

Namecoin itself is a nebulous project with great goals but no practical use, and not even an example of a practical use.

That girl's project is an example of a practical project that does not yet have a sub economy which would be necessary for its success.

How long would it take a developer to make a clone of Namecoin, but adapt all of the features to that specific use and maintain all the positive features of the original nmc like the high hash rate from merged mining, along with each wallet having the option to interact with the other chain, like a bitcoin cash but not entirely divergent?

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Another option is to find some other group which has a genuine taste for, or use for, a network which cannot be easily controlled. Ideally most people would prefer that. Psychologically it is healthier for people to prefer independence over security and authority, but you really only find that in young people who have a sense of freedom. In industrialized society that is not even most young people, it is a small subset, but it exists. Portland famously has an influential 'anarchist' community.

https://www.npr.org/2021/07/11/1014967393/where-portland-oregon-stands-a-year-after-being-a-protest-hotspot

A problem with marketing to that audience is that you will attract a lot of attention from law enforcement types. The U.S. spends a vast amount of money against anything which empowers groups like that, and any crowd that uses the word 'anarchist' is 50% undercover cops. The good news there is that undercover cops are generous donors. For decades the biggest single source of income for the U.S. communist party was undercover fbi agents.

If you are in a country that requires a major crime for extradition you could easily contact members of that community and discuss things. All of your communication with them will be monitored by the U.S. government of course, and you are likely to be dealing with a high percentage of cops, but if you handle it smartly and understand anarchist values it could benefit everyone.

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Once there is some small group which is generally respected, and which actually uses Namecoin in a beneficial way, then there will be a second group much more easily, and a third group etc.