Week 7 Lecture Reflection

The week seven lecture was again presented by John Banks and discussed ethics and governance in online communities. It really brought to my attention the extent to which fans and voluntary content creators contribute to corporations. The Trainz fan base offer so much to Auran. The fans provide everything from game content to publicity at no cost to Auran, in fact Auran relies upon their contributions. This extensive ‘free labour’ raises ethical issues for such corporations. Problems arise when areas of voluntary work connect with entrepreneurial business. It seems that these problems are only going to occur more often in the future as the culture of fans and consumers taking on production becomes more prevalent. John seemed very concerned with the ethical issues surrounding this topical area and I think rightfully so. Although there is no real right or wrong answer it is a concern that a corporation can profit so significantly from fans and their intellectual property whilst providing nothing in return. Obviously the fans aren’t forced to do so but should a corporation use this as an excuse for exploitation?