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Originally Posted by Natz  I own and administrate my own community forum too which doesn't help matters much, but there is nothing more rewarding than as an administrator to have a successful forum (not necessarily in numbers, but in activity) that creates a sense of community fellowship. The friendships and contacts that can be gained through cyber people with things in common with you are second to none.
Sadly, some participants are lonely people that rely on the community for support and to make it from one day to the next. |
This is one of the things that usually brings me hostility when I discuss this issue in other forums. I don't believe an "online community" is truly a community. I think people who tell themselves they are part of a community by participating in a forum rather then going out and doing things with other people are lying to themselves.
I think the "online community" thing is a poor ersatz for real human contact in real time, but that is what is happening for many people ( myself included )
I don't write any of this in a judgmental way, I am in the same hole.