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jrg
jrg
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Let me make something incredibly clear up front: While I come across as rather angry, I'm not. I'm very happy with the way the SE network is run, and while I disagree with SE on many things, we've agreed to bury the hatchet because the bickering is not productive if it goes on for months at a time.

As a friend of mine just pointed out, it's technically a form of Despotism.

Stack Exchange, Inc has the final say in everything that goes on in this site. Here is why I say that:

  • First, SE, Inc has complete control of the websites source code.
  • Second, while they generally leave the community to it's own devices, and the government of the city-states/provinces to the community elected moderators, occasionally they need to interfere for whatever reason (legal, nobody can agree, etc).

So in some ways, it's a meritcracy. In some ways, it's a democratic republic, since we have a constitution (as encoded in the FAQ of each respective site, and enshrined in Meta.StackOverflow). But when you get down to it, all this exists at the whim of the "dictators", SE, Inc.

As a friend of mine just pointed out, it's technically a form of Despotism.

Stack Exchange, Inc has the final say in everything that goes on in this site. Here is why I say that:

  • First, SE, Inc has complete control of the websites source code.
  • Second, while they generally leave the community to it's own devices, and the government of the city-states/provinces to the community elected moderators, occasionally they need to interfere for whatever reason (legal, nobody can agree, etc).

So in some ways, it's a meritcracy. In some ways, it's a democratic republic, since we have a constitution (as encoded in the FAQ of each respective site, and enshrined in Meta.StackOverflow). But when you get down to it, all this exists at the whim of the "dictators", SE, Inc.

Let me make something incredibly clear up front: While I come across as rather angry, I'm not. I'm very happy with the way the SE network is run, and while I disagree with SE on many things, we've agreed to bury the hatchet because the bickering is not productive if it goes on for months at a time.

As a friend of mine just pointed out, it's technically a form of Despotism.

Stack Exchange, Inc has the final say in everything that goes on in this site. Here is why I say that:

  • First, SE, Inc has complete control of the websites source code.
  • Second, while they generally leave the community to it's own devices, and the government of the city-states/provinces to the community elected moderators, occasionally they need to interfere for whatever reason (legal, nobody can agree, etc).

So in some ways, it's a meritcracy. In some ways, it's a democratic republic, since we have a constitution (as encoded in the FAQ of each respective site, and enshrined in Meta.StackOverflow). But when you get down to it, all this exists at the whim of the "dictators", SE, Inc.

Source Link
jrg
jrg
  • 281
  • 1
  • 6

As a friend of mine just pointed out, it's technically a form of Despotism.

Stack Exchange, Inc has the final say in everything that goes on in this site. Here is why I say that:

  • First, SE, Inc has complete control of the websites source code.
  • Second, while they generally leave the community to it's own devices, and the government of the city-states/provinces to the community elected moderators, occasionally they need to interfere for whatever reason (legal, nobody can agree, etc).

So in some ways, it's a meritcracy. In some ways, it's a democratic republic, since we have a constitution (as encoded in the FAQ of each respective site, and enshrined in Meta.StackOverflow). But when you get down to it, all this exists at the whim of the "dictators", SE, Inc.