Cultures of Peer Production

To set the groundwork for understanding cultures of peer production, this chapter argues that it is necessary to see that peer production is, by and large, a form of cultural production. It also argues that the cultures of peer production projects will tend to be characterized by autonomy, meritocracy, openness, and inspiration. Field theory helps us to see how peer production projects are situated in broader structures of power. The chapter discusses the autonomy of peer production projects and their position within larger fields of software and media production, or what might be described as a larger field of “tech” or the field of new media production. The distinction of peer production projects is closely related to core values and assumptions. The chapter discusses openness as a key value and disposition within peer production cultures, elaborating on this with examples such as Wikipedia's “good faith collaboration”.