Internet et la culture de la gratuité

Abstract

The idea that the Internet is a free, public good is highly prevalent among present day Internet users. Where does the idea that the Internet should be free come from? Part of the answer lies in the founding culture of the Internet : a creed of freedom shared by scholars who were collaborating with the military but also, and even more importantly, by the first hackers who were active in establishing the Net and in shaping the popular imagination around it. Other elements of a response come from changes in the regime of social exchange impelled by the Internet : the limitations of intellectual property law are brought to the fore by the exchange of immaterial goods in the digital context. This situation calls for the invention of alternatives to the propietary regime. The social Web may provide an opportunity to radically and significantly extend the practices of gifting in a networked world. © Copyright 2010 La Dècouverte. All rights reserved.