Virtual Community

While there is no general agreement regarding the exact definition of virtual community, at a minimum, virtual communities are groups of people connected primarily (if not solely) through online interaction. The term virtual community has been applied to groups formed through a variety of online forums, including email listservs, bulletin-board services (BBSs), USENET newsgroups, MUDs and MOOs (Multi-User Dungeons and MUDs Object-Oriented), and other forms of online chat. Virtual communities have also been an important focus of researchers studying online communication. The two key questions that such research has addressed have been whether or not online groups can be considered communities, and whether such online communities enhance or detract from offline connections. A focus on virtual community has therefore been at the very center of debates regarding the potential positive or negative effects of the increased use of computers and the Internet.

One reason for the lack of agreement on a definition of virtual community is the long history of disagreement over the definition of community itself. While heavily used in sociological research, community researchers themselves have pointed out that the term community is vague, means different things to [Page 468]different people, and is often used in a way that does not so much objectively describe a form of human organization as convey a moral ideal for human connection and interdependence. Similarly, the term virtual community has been applied to various types of online groups without much consistency regarding what factors qualify a group as a virtual community.

Concerns regarding community are central to discussions of new uses of computers and the Internet. In these discussions, some common themes emerge regarding the content and composition of virtual communities. One necessary component seems to be sufficient time to form relationships among members, develop shared culture and norms, and give a sense of shared history to group members. Other components discussed in definitions of virtual community include: honest and open communication among members, interdependence and mutual support, shared interests, and the ability of the community as a whole to provide something useful to its members, whether that is information and knowledge, emotional support, or economic benefits.