Time Lost in Flickr

I ran into some problems setting up my Flickr account due to some mysterious email address confusion detected by Flickr that resulted in my adding a Yahoo account to my arsenal of weapons.  Sounds shady to me but the real downside was that after I'd spent a sizable chunk of time organizing photos into sets with titles and tags and privacy controls etc, I had to start from scratch.  However, I do like the app and can see the tremendous appeal it offers to a broad spectrum of users.

One aspect of the app that especially intrigued me was that of "The Commons".  The objectives of The Commons are stated as follows:

1. To increase access to publicly-held photography collections, and
2. To provide a way for the general public to contribute information and knowledge. (Then watch what happens when they do!)

I lost a LOT of time in this section, mesmerized by the historical photos in these collections.  I'm still unsure however, what "happens" when the general public contributes information to the individual photos.  I mean, I saw that it was possible to leave a comment, add a tag, or identify a person but what is the result of anybody defining these identifiers?  If anybody has more information on how this section works in the "big picture", please leave me a comment.

I started a photo library of some interesting art and architecture I've photographed.  Labels, tags, and descriptions will be added as time permits but the photos are there!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/anna-rauvenpoor/