What kind of 'government system' do most internet forums resemble?

[Dundee Slaytern]

ADD] The only forum I know of that has anarchy for all intents and purposes, is a particular webcomic forum. The sole moderator of that forum is MIA 99.99% of the time, the stated forum rules are nothing more than smouldering ashes in the wind, and no other forum moderator in the network really gives a jack squat about it anymore.

When one of them complains about a Troll annoying them, the usual response is laughter at the irony.

[J'aran]

Originally posted by Dundee Slaytern: Hmmmm... Dictatorship might seem to be a logical choice, but not quite. The Moderators do hold council meetings, with Ziroc having the final say. It is not a case of "Whatever Ziroc says, my opinion holds jack squat". Yes, he has the final say, but he also listens to the "council" and bases his decisions on that. Not sure what kind of government system reflects this though.

Seems like an enlightened monarchy to me.

BTW, what exactly is a kleptocracy? That sounds an awful lot like what we have to put up with here in the Netherlands nowadays, with the government greatly reducing the funding for wellfare, healthcare, education and whatnot, and in general making life a lot more expensive for especially the middle and lower class Dutchies, but at the same time managing to give themselves a raise in salary. Buncha jerks.

[Memnoch]

Yep, kleptocracy sounds like a nation of thieves.

[Harkoliar]

Originally posted by J'aran: One of my regular 'virtual hang-outs' borders on anarchy, so it's not that far-fetched. Rules exist there, but enforcement of those is practcally non-existent. That system even works quite well there, because it's a relatively small forum, consisting of about twenty or so regular members, all of whom got to know each other personally over the years through various meetings. If a new person joins, he or she goes through an 'initiation period' of heavy abuse, and either goes away to cry in a corner or becomes a friend for life. In the almost three years I've posted there, I've only ever seen one person banned, and he was a really EXTREMELY annoying newbie, who only seemed to be able to talk crap.

I do not think we have that kind of thing here about initiation.. unless you guys are not telling me something [img]tongue.gif[/img]