Fri, 2 Dec 1994 12:39:19 -0800 for <socgrad@UCSD.EDU>
Date:    Fri, 2 Dec 94 14:30 EST
From: "Frank D. Beck" <FDB1@PSUVM.PSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: Call for Papers: Communities in Cyberspace
To: smithm@nicco.sscnet.ucla.edu
           -- Thu, 1 Dec 1994 16:36:15 -0800 (PST)
Hi folks,

In light of the call for papers "Communities in Cyberspace," I feel the need to
make a few comments.

I don't believe communities exist in cyberspace.  Historically sociologists
have thought of community as composed of three elements: territory/locality
local culture, and locality/community oriented interaction.  Though different
theories have emphasized these to varying degrees, where all three exist you
are likely to find community.

Interaction alone is a very important part of the picture and may produce a
sense of community among participants but it does not make a community.  When
people talk about their place and their local culture, when they work for the
improvement of either and the well-being of others in the place, then community
happens.

Frank and Doug