Elinor Ostrom won the Nobel in economics, though she was a political scientist, for her carefully gathered evidence that the "tragedy of the commons" is not inevitable & that communities that successfully govern common resources (water, fisheries, forests, etc) use 8 design principles. I like this brief explanation that specifically mentions #onlinecommunities
http://www.lifewithalacrity.com/2015/11/a-revised-ostroms-design-principles-for-collective-governance-of-the-commons-.html