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Virtual communities are an increasingly popular way to conduct business over the Internet. However, from the service provider's point of view they pose special challenges. In particular, unless the provider itself engages in content or service provision, the service relies entirely on its members for provision of services. The members should thus be seen as resources for service provision. This type of networked service production system implies challenges in terms of service quality management and, subsequently, value creation for community members. This paper explores these issues by revisiting service marketing and service operations literature on service quality. Analysis of the literature indicates that firms facilitating virtual communities need to ensure the quality of their service by not only ensuring technical quality but also by nurturing the social aspects of the community that have an impact on the willingness of community members to provide service to each other.

Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of wealth redistribution would allow people to coordinate their own taxation without the use of a central government. Such a system would rely instead on redistributing taxes via the peers as trusted intermediaries. The network formed by multi-hop mutual credit payments provides a transport network for peer-to-peer wealth redistribution. Payment paths can be used to transport tax between peers, achieving scalability by "multi-hop routing", the same design philosophy that governs data transmission on the internet.

Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of wealth redistribution would allow people to coordinate their own taxation without the use of a central government. Such a system would rely instead on redistributing taxes via the peers as trusted intermediaries. The network formed by multi-hop mutual credit payments provides a transport network for peer-to-peer wealth redistribution. Payment paths can be used to transport tax between peers, achieving scalability by "multi-hop routing", the same design philosophy that governs data transmission on the internet.

Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of wealth redistribution would allow people to coordinate their own taxation without the use of a central government. Such a system would rely instead on redistributing taxes via the peers as trusted intermediaries. The network formed by multi-hop mutual credit payments provides a transport network for peer-to-peer wealth redistribution. Payment paths can be used to transport tax between peers, achieving scalability by "multi-hop routing", the same design philosophy that governs data transmission on the internet.

Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of wealth redistribution would allow people to coordinate their own taxation without the use of a central government. Such a system would rely instead on redistributing taxes via the peers as trusted intermediaries. The network formed by multi-hop mutual credit payments provides a transport network for peer-to-peer wealth redistribution. Payment paths can be used to transport tax between peers, achieving scalability by "multi-hop routing", the same design philosophy that governs data transmission on the internet.

Legislative protection that provides for a fair and balanced market of copyrighted material becomes much more challenging as new technology including peer-to-peer file sharing (P2P) reduces the transaction costs of obtaining copyrighted material. This paper examines the current state of P2P trading and technology in relation to the currently applicable laws, and makes proposals on how the existing laws could be modified to better adapt to the rapidly changing forefront of technology. These laws will lose much of their relevance as P2P technology approaches what I call the "P2P Singularity" of completely anonymous file exchange, where identification and prosecution of infringing individual users becomes technically infeasible. At this point, the majority of the laws protecting digital copyrighted material loose much of their relevance as the cost and ability to enforce the laws becomes drastically higher than the overall benefit gained. After the networks have evolved to this point, this paper examines several of the new business models that copyright owners could adopt in order to continue to profit.

"Not since Marx identified the manufacturing plants of Manchester as the blueprint for the new capitalist society has there been a more profound transformation of the fundamentals of our social life. As capitalism faces a series of structural crises, a new social, political and economic dynamic is emerging: peer to peer. What is peer to peer? Why is it essential for building a commons-centric future? How could this happen? These are the questions this book tries to answer. Peer to peer is a type of social relations in human networks, as well as a technological infrastructure that makes the generalization and scaling up of such relations possible. Thus, peer to peer enables a new mode of production and creates the potential for a transition to a commons-oriented economy. "

Der Beitrag diskutiert Kunstfreiheit und Kulturpolitik im Zusammenhang mit neuen Bezahlmodellen im Internet. Die digitale Revolution und die anhaltende neoliberale Entsolidarisierung stellen die Grundwerte bisheriger Kulturpolitik - die Grundversorgung mit Meinungsvielfalt, die Sicherung kultureller Vielfalt, die Gewährleistung von kultureller Bildung und rezeptiver und produktiver kultureller Teilhabe, die angemessene Vergütung der Urheber für die Nutzung ihrer Werke - in Frage. Lassen sich öffentlich-rechtlicher Rundfunk, Stadt- und Staatstheater oder Filmförderung noch rechtfertigen? Wir befinden uns mitten in einem gesellschaftsweiten Großexperiment. Überlieferte Regelungen und medientechnologische und -praktische Wirklichkeit klaffen immer weiter auseinander. Die einen versuchen, die Kluft mit aller gesetzlichen und technischen Gewalt zu schließen. Andere sehen sie als Nährboden für neue Ansätze. Kreative und Publikum, soviel ist deutlich, müssen ihren Gesellschaftsvertrag über Kultur neu aushandeln und mit Leben füllen. Der Beitrag betrachtet das Urheberrecht und das Urheberrecht kollektiv sowie die Peer-to-Peer-Finanzierung. Abschließend erfolgen Überlegungen zur Verteilungsgerechtigkeit. (ICB2)