The purpose of this paper is to explore the inclusion of the concept to think of forms of socialization of scientific knowledge. By alternative we refer to the dialogues that occur within scientific virtual communities that do not necessarily correspond to the dynamics to the standardized assessment of scientific production established according to policies, and yet they involve levels of openness in and quality. It will be explored whether these high levels of openness in science is due, precisely, to a bet of governance of -conscious or not- among some academics that leads, ultimately, to the configuration of clearer ways of the democratization of knowledge. To do so, it will be explored the concept and its role in understanding the phenomenon of knowledge sharing within academic virtual communities. The text points to the conclusion that, indeed, the category “governance” can be useful to think these forms of knowledge socialization. Keywords Governance. Academic virtual communities. Knowledge sharing.