As Baym discusses in Chapter 4, people hugely disagree about what an online community is defined as. Some people think a community is solely based on geography, and that online communities cannot really exist. Others believe that a group can only be a community if the members share resources and help each other. This can take place in a variety of ways; one example Baym posed was when a “mommy blogger” received over $20,000 in donations after her 17-month-old daughter unexpectedly passed away (p. 83-84). People can also form groups based upon what they have in common (ethnicity, fandom, etc.). However, as Howard Rheingold (who coined the phrase “virtual community”) pointed out, these online communities share such a strong bond that although people may have never met before, their relationships are very real.
The IRL documentary was very interesting, and it showed me how vitally important online communities can be to people. One man spoke about how he was able to get online and vent to people when no one would listen to him in real life. A woman said that the community helped her get back on track when she broke up with her boyfriend and became depressed. In fact, one woman said that describing the community as simply a group about Buffy barely scratched the surface, and that it was really a “family.” They would travel across the country for PBPs (Posting Board Parties), jump into cars with community members they had never met before to drive to Disney World, and go to members’ weddings. In fact, when the community died, the members were very sad and said they experienced a “loss.”
I have never been in an online community. I would always meet up online with people whom I already knew in real life. However, I can see that people can get a great deal of friendship and community from these online worlds. Especially when they are dealing with tragedy or a feeling of not belonging in their real life, people can use online communities to reinvent themselves and feel like someone cares.
The IRL documentary was interesting, particularly the parts where the members talked about the feeling of being in a family. One thing you can’t get online that you can get with face-to-face contact is physical experience, which I think is important. I have no doubt that online relationships are real, but there is no substitute for experiencing concerts, games, trips, etc. with family and friends. That’s why I found it interesting that the Bronze members found ways to get together offline.
I like the IRL documentary because it shows great points about how people enjoy the community as well as the good in the community. Most of the time we hear about the bad how people perceive all the bad things in most things online but the good out weighs the bad in the material this week.
I agree with you scoe and most of what we hear is the bad, and rarely the good. It was nice to hear the good for a change. Clarissa mentioned that it was nice to have this communities especially for those people who are going through a tragedy, and I completely agree. Some people do not want to ask for help or are ashamed or scared, but in these communities they can get emotional help sometimes without knowing. Just by talking to someone who has been through the same experience.
The IRL documentary not only showed that real relationships and communities can form online, but also that these communities are still compelled to meet face to face once relationships are established. In their case, they develops their annual conference, and many members found friends they maintain relationships with now that their community has disbanded.
You mentioned the strong bond between community members. I think this relates back to SIPs. People assume similarity and can present a stronger bond through CMC than in F2F communication environments. CMC provides a buffer for socialization, where people can choose their interactions, manage impressions, increase familiarity, and create stronger relationships.