AAlthough radically different in terms of size, scale, and scope, Linux, Wikipedia, and GuttenPlag Wiki are all examples of what you might call “commons-based peer production,” a term coined in the early 2000s by a law professor named Yochai Benkler.
Drawing on Benkler’s work, we propose a new definition of peer production. We hold that these projects must do four things:
Motivate participants to contribute using diverse incentives that are frequently, if not exclusively, nonmonetary.
Be decentralized in that they are collectively self-governed and organized by participants.
Be decentralized in terms of how tasks are executed.
Create content that is protected as part of the public commons.
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