Among hackers, a clever trick isn't valued only because it works. Wit, guile and craftiness are admired as much for how they look as for what they do, so a solution's elegance becomes a source of status in its own right.
People driven mainly by commitment to their craft can end up as political activists. When ownership rules threaten their ability to keep working, they start questioning the reach of copyright and patents and refuse restrictive protections on what they make.
Collaborators who rarely meet keep a joint project going through shared social codes and values, inside jokes, manifestos, festive gatherings, and their own elaborate forms of self-government. These customs, not just the code, make building together at a distance possible.