NEA, in the context of the Internet and computing, is an acronym which stands for the maxim

Saying

A saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."There are a number of specific types of saying:...

:

No one owns it.

Everyone can use it.

Anyone can improve it.

The maxim originated with the authors Doc Searls

Doc Searls

David "Doc" Searls , co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, is an American journalist, columnist, author and a widely-read blogger, a fellow at the Center for Information Technology & Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a fellow alumnus of the Berkman Center for Internet &...

 and David Weinberger

David Weinberger

David Weinberger is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto David Weinberger (born 1950 in New York) is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the...

 in an essay of 2003 entitled World of Ends. What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else

It was designed originally to explain the nature of the Internet itself; that it cannot be owned by any individual corporation because it is an agreement not a thing, that potentially everyone on earth can have access to it, and that anyone can potentially start a new service or even improve the nature of the agreement with a new good idea.

The concept is especially true on the scale of the products of Open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 collaboration such as the Linux

Linux

Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...

 operating system, the Firefox web browser or the Wikipedia

Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...

 online encyclopedia.

External links

• World of Ends. What the Internet Is and How to Stop Mistaking It for Something Else Doc Searls
  Doc Searls
  David "Doc" Searls , co-author of The Cluetrain Manifesto, is an American journalist, columnist, author and a widely-read blogger, a fellow at the Center for Information Technology & Society at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a fellow alumnus of the Berkman Center for Internet &...
  
   and David Weinberger
  David Weinberger
  David Weinberger is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the Cluetrain Manifesto David Weinberger (born 1950 in New York) is an American technologist, professional speaker, and commentator, probably best known as co-author of the...
  
   - 3 October 2003
• Ten Ideas about Ideas Linux Journal
  Linux Journal
  Linux Journal is a monthly technology magazine published by Belltown Media, Inc. of Houston, Texas. The magazine focuses specifically on Linux, allowing the content to be a highly specialized source of information for open source enthusiasts.-History:...
  
  Doc Searls blog on Sat, 2006-11-04