Musing about Traditional Versus Independent Publishing

I realize that this is something that is in flux even as I write about it, but following the recent exchange of points between Sarah and Maureen and company (lots of company), I got to thinking that it might be useful to try to draw up a comparison between what people expected from traditional publishing and what they could expect from the new independent or epublishing world? Here's what I came up with.
( A lot of meandering thinking out loud... )

The "author does it all" model, financing that doesn't have up-front advances or costs but does offer continuing revenue streams and public patronage, and an effectively unlimited market where authors need to build a fanbase over time. It's a huge revolution! And it's just starting -- watch out for tomorrow's ebooks today!
( What incited this? Some links... )

Gatekeepers versus the flood of crud

I missed a point in the other posting. I think it is rooted in the shift of models from publishing house to author-does-it-all, but it also ties into the change from limited markets to unlimited ones. In any case, I think I'd call it the gatekeepers versus the flood of crud question.
( The core of the argument )

We may have lost the gatekeepers of old, but we're developing a whole new set of guides and ways of plumbing the flood to pick out what each of us wants. Instead of being forced to pick from a small trickle that made it through the filters of the publishing houses, we've got a much wider flood to pick from. As a reader, I would rather try surfing on the wave than put up with that slow trickle that someone else controls.

What's your choice?