Community Networks as lead users in online public services design.
Fiorella De Cindio, Laura Anna Ripamonti, Cristian Peraboni · The Journal of Community Informatics · 2007
Computer professionals are used to conceive people who use the applications they develop as users, or, in the best case, as consumers. People are owner of a fundamental sovereignty right which allows them to play an active role in designing the computer-based systems shaping their working and social life. This role cannot be played in isolation: a community which converges over a shared understanding is a precious asset for designing computer-based systems and online services. The net makes this change feasible, and both the private and the public sector can effectively exploit these new perspectives.