I have a new post on my blog commemorating the CDS's four years as a democratic community in Second Life. First paragraph reproduced here:
The Confederation of Democratic Simulators (CDS) recently celebrated its fourth birthday. This makes the CDS Second Life's longest-running democratic, self-governing community. It is also one of the most long-lived of any Second Life projects, most of which do not survive a change of leadership. The founders of the CDS (or Neualtenburg as it was then known) were right in one of their reasons for choosing to use democratic structures of self-governance - it allows for continuity and persistence of the project. As one group of activists tire or move on, others are able to take their place, re-energise the project and bring in new ideas so that things don't get stale. Democracy isn't pretty but it is resilient.
Click here for the full article.