The Tragedy of the Commons and Social Software
Clay shirky elaborates:
Flame wars are not surprising; they are one of the most reliable features of mailing list practice. If you assume a piece of software is for what it does, rather than what its designer's stated goals were, then mailing list software is, among other things, a tool for creating and sustaining heated argument.
Technology companies too often view their work as "producing technology" when in reality it (should) be "producing solutions" for all-too-frail humans.
