Establishing rules and conventions for the infrastructure: the 'Tragedy of the unmanaged commons' as a determinate factor

As computer networks become "the media through which more and more public discourse takes place, the ways in which that discourse is socially organized becomes more consequential " [Kollock and Smith 1994]. It would seem prudent to consider addressing the issues of social interaction and social behavior on the network based upon the concept of Hardin's "tragedy of the commons" [Hardin, 1968] in which he described a group of herders having open access to a common parcel of land-known as the Common (or town common)-on which they could let their cows graze. It is in each herder's interest to put as many cows as possible onto the common, even if the common is damaged as a result. The herder receives all the benefits from the additional cows and the entire group shares the damage to the common. Yet if all herders make this individually reasonable decision the commons is destroyed and all will suffer. Hardin's model when coupled with a foundational understanding of the structure, function, and purpose of any online electronic mechanism will prove to be a powerful model by which to establish rules and conventions for the infrastructure.