caa a22 4500 467895619 CHVBK 20180406152803.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170328e20060601xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s00146-005-0020-7 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s00146-005-0020-7 Memmi Daniel Department d'Informatique, UQAM, C.P. 8888 Succ. C.V., H3C 3P8, Montreal, QC, Canada aut The nature of virtual communities [Elektronische Daten] [Daniel Memmi] The impressive development of electronic communication techniques has given rise to virtual communities. The nature of these computer-mediated communities has been the subject of much recent debate. Are they ordinary social groups in electronic form, or are they fundamentally different from traditional communities? Understanding virtual communities seems a prerequisite for the design of better communication systems. To clarify this debate, we will resort to the classical sociological distinction between small traditional communities (based on personal relations) and modern social groups (bound by looser, more impersonal links). We will argue that the discussion about virtual communities is often vitiated by a simplistic assimilation to traditional communities, whereas they may be in fact quite different and much more impersonal. Virtual communities are often bound by reference to common objects or goals, and not by personal relations. In this respect, virtual communities are just another example of a long-term evolution of modern society toward more abstract social relationships. Springer-Verlag London Limited, 2006 Virtual communities nationallicence Community nationallicence Gemeinschaft nationallicence Gesellschaft nationallicence Cyberspace nationallicence Groupware nationallicence Collaborative software nationallicence Social networks nationallicence AI & SOCIETY Springer-Verlag 20/3(2006-06-01), 288-300 0951-5666 20:3<288 2006 20 146 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-005-0020-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s00146-005-0020-7 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Memmi Daniel Department d'Informatique, UQAM, C.P. 8888 Succ. C.V., H3C 3P8, Montreal, QC, Canada aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- AI & SOCIETY Springer-Verlag 20/3(2006-06-01), 288-300 0951-5666 20:3<288 2006 20 146 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer