sunshinemiss -> What is a community? (4/13/2011 5:29:55 AM)
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An interesting question. Let's see if i can pull it apart and be coherent. I may need a glass of wine to have the fortitude for clarity. First, I'd like to clarify - the COMPUTER and the INTERNET are tools. This forum, these boards are different (to me) than those. I've been to chat rooms - for a number of topics - and I consistently come back here. So for better or worse, this Collarchat is in a different category. As far as the random strangers... Well... I work in a university. I know a LOT of the teachers and many of the students. There are however, many more that I don't know. That is a community. Are the people I don't know also part of that community? The students who are enrolled, the other teachers, the administrative staff, the janitors, the man who runs the coffee shop, the folks in the post office who send off my postcards - they are part of the community to me. In that, I am not relevant except as the one who is answering the question and as one of the professors. The people who come to take continuing education classes for a three week time period - they are temporary members of the community. A random person who comes onto campus? Someone who brings the newspapers, a delivery man bringing lunch to the secretaries, the bus driver who has a stop on campus, the telephone repair person - they don't have a place in the community as far as I am concerned. They are not engaged in it. They are visitors. To me, they are not part of the community because they don't really interact except on a shallow level. How that relates to CM / CC - The regular posters are in the community. They (we?) have a regular pattern in our lives that includes this forum. Even the members who are up in the rafters, just reading are members of the community - they are like the students that I don't know but are regularly around. Perhaps they are not invested in the same way as I am, but yes, they are still a part of the community to me. Guests are not - they are like the delivery people... zoom in, zoom out... no real interaction, no real investment. The question that then arose for me in answering your post was... well then when does a guest / someone new become a member of the community by my definition. I'm not sure I can answer that. In fact, I went back and looked at the post I made awhile back about the Book Club. It seemed a similar kind of question came up for me at that point although we didn't discuss it directly. At some point, they show they are invested somehow. How they do that? I don't know. It's not number of posts to me. It's not how many friends are on their CM friends list. It's got something to do with interaction although I don't think I can totally put my finger on it. Why have some people been able to connect with others (I broadened your question so that it isn't just about ME because there are a couple of people on the boards whose viewpoints are not my cup of tea, but they are still members of the community.)? They are invested in the people / stories / interactions here. Yes, I'm with you about the random dude as well. :) I occasionally get notes from people just because of where I am. It has nothing to do with who I am. To me they are random dudes. I owe them nothing more than my morals, ethics, integrity call upon me to share. They are not part of my community. Even the people on CM are not in this community to me unless somehow they have invested in the people / stories / interactions (I'm including people in the chat rooms for example.). I think it's about the connection amongst people. That is where the "community" is woven together to me. As an aside - and purely rhetorically - I imagine I am not the only person looking at your pyramid and wondering "Where am I on that list?" I appreciate your list. In fact it gives me pause because being so far away from most of the people that i love, my grouping is closer to an oval rather than a pyramid. There are very very few people who I would consider "close to me". I envy you that. For me I suppose it is the circumstances of geography although I take responsibility for having chosen the path I walk. Finally (yes, at last she gets to finally!) it is always a pleasure to interact with you like this in more depth. I believe if we were geographically closer, we'd be having laughter, walks, dinner, and the occasional wink. :) It has been my honored experience to meet so many people on this site and to have found great joy, laughter, hugs, and stimulating conversation with them. I am truly blessed to call a number of the people on here my friends, my soul sisters. Best, sunshine
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