[schneems]

Laurence Lessig called it back in Code 2.0: four elements that regulate behavior online: Laws, norms, markets, and technology

- Code/architecture – the physical or technical constraints on activities (e.g. locks on doors or firewalls on the Internet)

- Market – economic forces

- Law – explicit mandates that can be enforced by the government

- Norms – social conventions that one often feels compelled to follow

My take is that licenses are only one of many factors that are important. If something is illegal but the norm is to do it anyway (speeding) or if you’re rich enough to pay any speeding fine (markets) and have monster truck shocks to ignore speed bumps (architecture) then nothing will slow you down.