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It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}

It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}

It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}

It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}

It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.  

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.  

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.  

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.  

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}

It's a mixed / hybrid goverment, integrating elements from almost every one of the basic forms of government.

At the heart of Stack Exchange communities there is a token economy, the reputation system, which allows for a certain degree of self governing, a trait that points to meritocracy and timocracy. It's also a trait that, if left unchecked, may (and have in isolated instances) lead to plutocracy.

There are also strong democratic elements, the Meta process resembles a deliberative assembly¹, and has at times been used to define policies, hold referendums, and protest decisions. The election of community moderators, representatives of their respective communities, is also a deeply democratic process.

Network wide, each Stack Exchange site has a degree of autonomy, and per site Metas can be considered a form of local assembly, with Meta Stack Overflow being a grand assembly (of sorts). This arrangement is skewed in favour of Stack Overflow and the larger sites of the network in general, due to various historical and practical reasons², and it's a bit reminiscent of a commonwealth, or perhaps colonial structures, such as internal colonialism and neocolonialism.

At the end of the day, though, Stack Exchange Inc. has final say in all matters, and if we assume Stack Exchange Inc. as a single entity then we are talking about a benevolent dictatorship, a (mostly benign) authoritarian form of government.

_{¹ ...or a Roman Arena, depending on perspective.
² Population, for example.}