Reading Due October 13th
“Can communities be separate from physical location?” This was a really interesting question brought up by Lister. I started thinking about the different ways that I interact online. I talk to friends. Sometimes I go to online forums and interact with people that I do not know. But can an online community really be compared to a real community. I really liked a quote cited in the text by Rheingold.
“There’s always another mind out there. It’s like having a corner bar complete with old buddies and delightful newcomers and new tools waiting to take home and fresh graffiti and letters, except instead of putting on my coat, shutting down the computer and walking down to the corner, I just invoke my telecom programme and there they are. It’s a place” (Lister 173).
I started again to look at my online habits. Can online forums that I visit really compare to actual communities? When online, I can go straight to a community based on just about any topic that one can think of (political, film, food, current events, etc). Then I can immediately pose any kind of question to the community, or look for a current thread to comment on. Once I do, I have a huge number of people that may make comments on my comment if they wish. In this way, I believe that online communities are better. They are more convenient.
But does that really make them more realistic? I found an interesting article titled, “Communities: Virtual vs. Real” from Science Magazine. It brought up an interesting point. Anyone may leave an online community at any time that he or she wishes. Then they “disappear.” I could type anything without thought of repercussions and then just leave. In real life, people are more accountable. With differences like this one, is it really possible to ever have a realistic online community. The rules are different.
I don’t think that it is really possible to answer these questions. Those that are able to come up with answers would certainly not come to a consensus. Everyone has a different idea of realistic and of community. Real communities themselves differ from each other just as online communities differ from each other.
deniz26 said,
October 13, 2008 at 9:21 pm
Interesting points. I find myself wondering the same questions. How does a virtual community differ from a real one? Is one better or more effective than another?