Cyberchiefs : autonomy and authority in online tribes / Mathieu O'Neil.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

O'Neil, Mathieu.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Internet--Social aspects.

Internet.

Computer networks--Social aspects.

Computer networks.

Cyberspace--Social aspects.

Cyberspace.

Authority.

Interpersonal communication.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (224 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

London ; New York : Pluto Press ; New York : Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, 2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

People are inventing new ways of working together on the internet. Decentralised production thrives on weblogs, wikis and free software projects. In Cyberchiefs, Mathieu O'Neil focuses on the regulations of these working relationships. He examines the transformation of leadership and expertise in online networks, and the emergence of innovative forms of participatory politics.What are the costs and benefits of alternatives to hierarchical organisation? Using case studies of online projects or 'tribes' such as the radical Primitivism archive, the Daily Kos political weblog, the Debian free software project, and Wikipedia, O'Neil shows that leaders must support maximum autonomy for participants, and he analyses the tensions generated by this distribution of authority.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Part I

1. The Autonomy Imperative

Anarchism and the Global Network of Struggles

Self-realisation in the Digital Commons

Theories of Online Autonomy

The Internet Ideology and Informational Capitalism

Epistemic Tribal Projects

2. The Distribution of Charisma

Sticking it to The Virtual Man

Hacking Weber

Chiefs Without Authority

Distributed Production

Toadings in the Early Social Net

The Reputation Economy

3. The Tyranny of Structure

Power Laws

The Impact of Search

The Persistence of Archaic Force

Field Logic: Bourdieu

Gendering the Online Abject

4. The Grammar of Justice

Criticality and Justification

Legal Autonomy and Sovereign Authority

Norm Enforcement: Netiquette and Wizocracy

Tracking Authority in Four Online Tribes

Part II

5. The Last Online Trive: primitivism.com

Project: Web 0.0

Authority: The One Inside

Conflict: The Bookchin Brouhaha

Radical Dissent and the Net

6. The Primary War: dailykos.com

Project: The Democratic Noise Machine

Authority: Drinking From a Fire Hose

Conflict: The Alegre Affair

7. The Imperfect Committee: debian.org

Project: The Universal Operating System

Authority: A Bazaar of Cathedrals

Conflict: the SL Saga

8. The Great Sock Hunt: wikipedia.org

Project: Expert Texpert Choking Smokers

Authority: The Cabal

Conflict: The Durova Dust-up

9. Online Tribal Bureaucracy

Organisation Without Domination

Costs and Benefi ts

The Role of Conflict

The Political Economy of Online Tribalism

Notes

Index.

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. 191-232) and index.

ISBN:

9781849644037

1849644039

OCLC:

656841493