The downside is that members can trip over each other cause problems for others more easily this way.
For example, one person likes to refactor code whenever he sees a chance, and by changing other people’s code (which he is more free to do under this structure) he has
caused more than a few bugs for other people to fight.

Scale all of this up and you have Valve, or so I imagine.

Lack of hierarchy != no rules. I think it should be obvious that if you want to refactor someone else's code, you should first discuss it with that person (or the team you're working with). Flat organizational structure requires more responsibility and thinking, thus doing "anything the fuck I want" may be quite destructive.

The downside is that members can trip over each other cause problems for others more easily this way.
For example, one person likes to refactor code whenever he sees a chance, and by changing other people’s code (which he is more free to do under this structure) he has
caused more than a few bugs for other people to fight.

Scale all of this up and you have Valve, or so I imagine.

Lack of hierarchy != no rules. I think it should be obvious that if you want to refactor someone else's code, you should first discuss it with that person (or the team you're working with). Flat hierarchy requires more responsibility and thinking, thus doing "anything the fuck I want" may be quite destructive.