[p2p-research] Am I missing any commons?

[Ryan Lanham]

Hi Michel:

A commons is not a corporation because a corporation has a defined purpose
other than useful sharing.  A commons may be organized as a corporation
legally but a corporation cannot become a commons unless its purpose is
free, open sharing with minimal purposes beyond those ends.

A commons is not a co-op because it is perfectly reasonable for a co-op to
attempt to maximize the intrinsic value of its assets.  A commons would not
do this as a stated goal.  Still, a co-op could be structured to be a
commons or to have many commons-like features.  The similarities are perhaps
greatest here.

A commons is not a state because it does not create its own mechanisms for
policing and enforcement beyond rudimentary social guides and constraints.
It also does not hold "public" property.

A commons is not a commune because individual property rights are not
inconsistent with the commons.  A person may use, for example, a creative
commons license and still participate in the commons.
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