Editing Tragedy of the commons (section)

==== Resources ====
Many digital resources have properties that make them vulnerable to the tragedy of the commons, including [[Knowledge commons|data]],<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.7551/mitpress/6980.001.0001 |title=Understanding Knowledge as a Commons |date=2006 |isbn=9780262256346 |editor-last1=Hess |editor-last2=Ostrom |editor-first1=Charlotte |editor-first2=Elinor }},</ref> virtual artifacts<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2139/ssrn.338500 | journal=SSRN| title=On Virtual Economies | date=2002 | last1=Castronova | first1=Edward | s2cid=263755316 }},</ref> and even [[Attention economy|limited user attention]].<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=https://www.jbe-platform.com/content/books/9789027285669-pbns.39.10kol |title=Computer-Mediated Communication |chapter=Managing the virtual commons: Cooperation and conflict in computer communities |date=26 June 1996 |page=109 |publisher=John Benjamins }}</ref> Closely related are the physical computational resources, such as [[CPU]], [[RAM]], and [[Bandwidth (computing)|network bandwidth]], that digital communities  on [[Shared web hosting service|shared servers]] rely upon and govern.<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0216335| doi-access=free| title=Emergence of integrated institutions in a large population of self-governing communities| date=2019| last1=Frey| first1=Seth| last2=Sumner| first2=Robert W.| journal=PLOS ONE| volume=14| issue=7| pages=e0216335| pmid=31295260| pmc=6622466| arxiv=1804.10312| bibcode=2019PLoSO..1416335F}}</ref> Some scholars argue that digital resources are infinite, and therefore immune to the tragedy of the commons, because downloading a file does not constitute the destruction of the file in the [[Digital environments|digital environment]],<ref>{{Citation|last1=Tzitzikas |first1=Yannis |last2=Marketakis |first2=Yannis |title=The File MyContacts.con: On Reading Unknown Digital Resources|date=2018|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-98488-9_15|work=Cinderella's Stick|pages=147–153|place=Cham|publisher=Springer International Publishing|isbn=978-3-319-98487-2|access-date=2021-05-24|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-98488-9_15}}</ref> and because it can be replicated and disseminated throughout the digital environment.<ref name="Greco-2004">{{Cite journal|last1=Greco|first1=Gian Maria|last2=Floridi|first2=Luciano|date=2004|title=The tragedy of the digital commons|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10676-004-2895-2|journal=Ethics and Information Technology|language=en|volume=6|issue=2|pages=73–81|doi=10.1007/s10676-004-2895-2|s2cid=5990776|issn=1388-1957}}</ref> However, it can still be considered a finite resource within the context of privacy laws and regulations that limit access to it.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Yakowitz Bambauer |first=Jane |date=2011 |title=Tragedy of the Data Commons |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1789749|journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |doi=10.2139/ssrn.1789749|issn=1556-5068}}</ref>

Finite digital resources can thus be [[Digital commons (economics)|digital commons]]. An example is a [[database]] that requires persistent maintenance, such as [[Wikipedia]]. As a non-profit, it survives on a network of people contributing to maintain a knowledge base without expectation of direct compensation. This digital resource will deplete as Wikipedia may only survive if it is contributed to and used as a commons. The motivation for individuals to contribute is reflective of the theory because, if humans act in their own immediate interest and no longer participate, then the resource becomes misinformed or depleted. Arguments surrounding the regulation and mitigation requirements for digital resources may become reflective of natural resources.<ref>D. Anthony, S. W. Smith, and T. Williamson, "[http://web.mit.edu/iandeseminar/Papers/Fall2005/anthony.pdf Explaining quality in internet collective goods: zealots and good samaritans in the case of ''Wikipedia'']", THanover : Dartmouth College, Technical Report, November 2005.</ref><ref>{{Citation |url=http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/reports/TR2007-606.pdf |title=The Quality of Open Source Production: Zealots and Good Samaritans in the Case of ''Wikipedia'' |first1=Denise |last1=Anthony |first2=Sean W. |last2=Smith |first3=Tim |last3=Williamson |journal=Technical Report TR2007-606 |publisher=Dartmouth College |date=April 2007 |access-date=2011-05-29 |archive-date=2011-06-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606072402/http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/reports/TR2007-606.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

This raises the question whether one can view access itself as a finite resource in the context of a digital environment. Some scholars argue this point, often pointing to a proxy for access that is more concrete and measurable.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1002/leap.1093 |title=Authors from the periphery countries choose open access more often |date=2017 |last1=Kieńć |first1=Witold |journal=Learned Publishing |volume=30 |issue=2 |pages=125–131 |s2cid=20237315 |doi-access=free }}</ref> One such proxy is [[Bandwidth (computing)|bandwidth]], which can become congested when too many people try to access the digital environment.<ref name="Greco-2004" /><ref name="Springer-2009">{{Cite journal|last=C. D.|first=Springer|date=2009|title=Avoiding a Tragedy: Information Literacy and the Tragedy of the Digital Commons|journal=Library Philosophy and Practice|volume=5}}</ref> Alternatively, one can think of the network itself as a common resource which can be exhausted through overuse.<ref name="Gupta-1997">{{Cite journal|last1=Gupta|first1=A.|last2=Jukic|first2=B.|last3=Parameswaran|first3=M.|last4=Stahl|first4=D.O.|last5=Whinston|first5=A.B.|date=November–December 1997|title=Streamlining the digital economy: how to avert a tragedy of the commons|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/643935|journal=IEEE Internet Computing |volume=1 |issue=6 |pages=38–46 |doi=10.1109/4236.643935}}</ref> Therefore, when talking about resources running out in a digital environment, it could be more useful to think in terms of the access to the digital environment being restricted in some way; this is called [[information entropy]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Chapter 5. Organizing Access to Digital Information Sources|date=2004-01-28|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/9783598440052.109 |work=Digital Libraries |pages=109–128|place=Berlin, New York |publisher=Walter de Gruyter{{snd}} K. G. Saur |doi=10.1515/9783598440052.109|isbn=978-3-598-44005-2|access-date=2021-05-24}}</ref>