Real vs. Imaginary Communities

“. . .Rather than being constrained by the computer, the members of these groups creatively exploit the systems’ features so as to play with new forms of expressive communication, to explore possible public identities, to create otherwise unlikely relationships, and to create behavioral norms. In so doing, they invent new communities.”(Reid, 1995)”

 Cyber communities are transcending the physical boundaries that usually accompany other communities. They can be any size, defined by the number of members. However, since these communities don’t actually possess boundaries, some researchers claim that they are “imaginary” communities that do not merit a deep study.

However, Oldenburg (1989) makes claims that online communities are actually filling a niche. We travel through three main areas during our daily rituals.  We have the place we live, the place we work, and the place where we interact with others. This used to be the domain of pubs, cafes and other such environments but increased urbanisation and developments such as the spread of malls and the stifling of humans leaves this gap sorely empty. Logging into an online community no matter what the form is the equivalent of popping at your local bar for a quick chat with the locals.