scratching the surface of a cybercommunity

• Online Communities by John Suler, 12/2/97
  • Re: Online Communities by Loren Bawn, 12/10/97
    
    

>> 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.<<

I think you're right about that, Loren. As a result of my work and play at the multimedia community "Palace" ( http://www1.rider.edu/~suler/psycyber/palacestudy.html), I'm continually impressed at how complex the dynamics of an online community can be. When people first pop into the environment, it seems to be nothing more than superficial chit-chat, but when you hang around for a while, you start to learn that there's a lot more going on beneath that apparent facade.

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