Jutta settles accounts with the hype surrounding 20six in the media and other blogs (some of which also do so indirectly through constantly repeated links). What strikes me about the whole story is this claim that 20six (or other similarly structured systems) would be a community - but is it really?
The term community is gladly used in an inflationary way as soon as someone has a great idea and benefits from the — sometimes voluntary and free — services of others. Sure, for the operator it's marketing (and nobody will be too explicit about the true core, that they live off and profit from the voluntary work of their users — that would be economic suicide). Can you simply declare a community into existence, like the chancellor declares a state of emergency?
Why do users accept being co-opted like this? Without having the true freedoms of a community? Herd mentality? Is subordination cool? Or is learning how to do it yourself (or how to properly participate with others) simply too tedious and too much work?
Is it simply more convenient to go to a server where the operator exploits your own work, but in return proudly holds up the community sign to the outside world, without having to do anything for it yourself?
I'd find it boring if I didn't get to experience all the problems and frustrations of doing things yourself. When I have the choice between taking something ready-made or building it myself, I choose the build-it-myself route. Maybe I'm just perverted ...
At Hexentanz, there's the original article.