> There are tons of corporations that consist of one person, after all.
That can be true. Certainly communities have to start somewhere and not all efforts by one person will see a community form. While this is a fun point for the sake of pedantry, it doesn't change much. One person running the service and a different person using the service results in the very same competition of interests. It's all just people at the end of the day. Even the legal system itself is just people.
> Typically in a corporation, the people are working to support the corporation rather than each other.
Typically people work to support their own interests. This is true in communities of all shapes and sizes, including communities which have been legally formalized as a corporation. In all cases one's own interests may help another's, but that's ultimately incidental.
No different in this community. When we write comments we are doing it because we derive some kind of individual benefit from it. Most likely the entertainment value in thinking about something and putting it words. If someone else takes something from a comment, that's merely a bonus. It was never really for them.
That can be true. Certainly communities have to start somewhere and not all efforts by one person will see a community form. While this is a fun point for the sake of pedantry, it doesn't change much. One person running the service and a different person using the service results in the very same competition of interests. It's all just people at the end of the day. Even the legal system itself is just people.
> Typically in a corporation, the people are working to support the corporation rather than each other.
Typically people work to support their own interests. This is true in communities of all shapes and sizes, including communities which have been legally formalized as a corporation. In all cases one's own interests may help another's, but that's ultimately incidental.
No different in this community. When we write comments we are doing it because we derive some kind of individual benefit from it. Most likely the entertainment value in thinking about something and putting it words. If someone else takes something from a comment, that's merely a bonus. It was never really for them.