Re: Online Communities

• Online Communities by John Suler, 12/2/97
  
  

I believe they exist, but they form and change much faster than non-cyber communities. The commities of which we are a part "out there" (school, work, neghborhood, town, etc.) do not always offer as much choice as a cyber-community and often come with "baggage" we must accept to avaoid the real hassles of leaving the community (time, expense, losing elements of the community we value). In cyber-space, we can simply delete the "bookmark" and look for something more in tune with our sensibilities. If we stay with a particular cyber-community long enough, I think we form connections at least as real as many of those in our non-cyber communities.

• scratching the surface of a cybercommunity by John Suler, 12/11/97