Defining True P2P Infrastructures

From P2P Foundation
Jump to navigation Jump to search


Definition

Proposed by Michel Bauwens:

What is a p2p infrastructure:

1) A P2P communications and cooperation infrastructure is a technological and social infrastructure which allows any individual to voluntarily aggregate with others for purposes of communication or the creation of common value

2 )A P2P technological infrastructure allows any agent to initiate actions from any point within the network, on the basis of equality of communication (network neutrality) and without any censorship impeding free speech and the freedom of association and cooperation. It is a distributed infrastructure in which elements of decentralisation and centralisation can only serve the efficiency of the network, and not issues of control or profit.

3) A P2P ownership infrastructure is preferentially owned by the users and producers of value over the network. Private and public ownership of P2P communication platforms can only be justified by superior service provision which does not impede the p2p rights of usage defined in 1 and 2.

4) A P2P governance infrastructure is based on the full rights by communities and participating individuals to govern their own infrastructures and actiivities. Governance by owners of infrastructure is subsumed to the prior usage and cooperation rights of users, including the right to autonomy and self-governance. The governance of P2P infrastructures recognizes participation by all legitimate stakeholders.

5) P2P revenue infrastructures recognize that value creation is primarily the result of user activities and cooperation, and has benefit or revenue sharing processes in place which recognize this value creation, but do not impede the continuation of peer to peer relational dynamics and value creation over the network.


More Information

  1. http://wiki.fcforum.net/index.php?title=Collective_editing_Infrastructure_part_final_declaration