At first glance, the term “online communities” seems to represent a self-evident concept. But, upon closer examination, it quickly becomes a multi-dimensional subject. There are a great deal of ways one might define “online community.” In fact, reduce your definition enough, and you might conclude that the entirety of the worldwide web is a community. Conversely, choosing an alternate definition might lead you to conclude that there are actually no real “communities” online. But, neither of these viewpoints are necessarily helpful in giving the idea thoughtful consideration. As Baym points out at the outset of Chapter 4, “…no one has ever been able to agree what exactly “community” means.” This shouldn’t surprise anyone with experience academia. However, at the end of the day, definitional squabbles aren’t always as important as experience. In the documentary IRL, which chronicles the experiences of diverse individuals with the online community based on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Bronze, one guy notes, “Once you got there, you didn’t stay because you wanted to talk about the show, I don’t think, you stayed for the sense of community.” It is this experience he speaks of, which echoes my own personal experience, that truly defines “online communities.” It’s that sense we have that we truly resonate with others we interact with on a consistent basis. Random groups of people we brush shoulders with virtually are easily forgotten, but a sense of camaraderie and belonging remains long after the community dissolves.
I completely agree with you in saying that some may not agree to say that there is such an existence of “online communities” Shouldn’t a community be a face to face interaction between people living near each other? Maybe, maybe not to some. We may never know, as you noted that Baym states, what the true definition of community really means.
Do you really think that online communities doesn’t exist?If this true, I disagree with you because I don’t see any difference between the online communities and the local face-to-face communities. There is nothing that local community offers that online communities doesn’t. Also I learned from chapter 4 that people who use technologies such as mobile phones and internet can are more sociable and can do things for their community faster and more effeciency.
I think his note “Once you got there, you didn’t stay because you wanted to talk about the show, I don’t think, you stayed for the sense of community” is definitely true. When looking for a community to use for the next paper, I could definitely see instances where the people got off topic and no longer talked about what the forum was actually created for.
You made very good points early in your blog when you described the entire worldwide web as a community. I never have thought of it that way, but I suppose you’re right. With that agreement in mind, the internet is sort of like an enormous community that unites people with similar interests. Some more recent websites, such as GameFAQs.com unites these people and allow them to interact with each other over long distances. Such communication allows people to form friendships with individuals who they would have never known existed otherwise. As with so many aspects of modern technology, there are pluses and minuses to the internet and its “communities”.
I think with the advances in communication technology and the creation of various social network sites, it is becoming more practical to think of online groups as communities.