This week we look at the concept of "virtual community"-- the idea that cyberspace might provide a new realm of neighborliness, democracy and sharing. Then we'll test this ideal against the historical experience of various online communities, such as Usenet newsgroups. We'll also start conducting our own experiments in "virtual community" by using the Caucus computer-conferencing system as an adjunct to our discussions.

This week we'll take our readings from cyberspace, rather than from the book. Look at Howard Rheingold's classic "A Slice of Life in My Virtual Community".

This week we'll also be discussing the use of the Caucus computer-conferencing system. Be sure to sign on! Remember also to be working on the assignment, due in lecture next week.

If you want to go further, take a look at Howard Rheingold's Brainstorms Web Page, particularly at the Virtual Worlds section, where you'll find the entire text of his book, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier and also an excellent listing of sites, books and articles on these topic. For a scathing academic critique of Rheingold's perspective, see the essay by Jan Fernback and Brad Thompson , Virtual Communities: Abort, Retry, Failure?  Then you can take a look at Rheingold's reply,Virtual Community, Phony Civil Society?