I. COMMERCIAL ONLINE COMMUNITIES.
1. Imagined Electronic Community: Representations of Online Community in Business Texts by Chris Werry. Early Business Texts and The Community That Isn't. Community As Interactive Marketing. Online Community and the Future of Internet Commerce. A Critique of Contemporary Internet Business Models. Online Community and the University. Acknowledgments. References.
2. Three Case Studies by Janelle Brown. Case Study 1: GeoCities. Case Study 2: SmartGirl Internette. Case Study 3: Electric Minds.
3. Cookies, Gift-Giving, and Online Communities by Hillary Bays and Miranda Mowbray. Introduction: How This Research Came to Be. The Gift Economy in Online Communities. Cookie Exchange. Online Recipe Collections. Cookies As Food. Symbolic Sustenance and Virtual Cookies. Cookies As Discrete Units (Stereotypical/Mythological Image). Cookies in Early Internet Terminology. Web Cookies. Magic Cookies. Fortune Cookies. GNU emacs. The Cookie Virus. The Childlike Spirit in Cookie Terminology. Cookies Are Meant to Be Shared. Clifford Stoll's Cookies. Kindergarten. In-Group Politeness. The Hau of Cookies. Women and Giving. Cookies and Mom. Archetype of a Cookie Baker. Learning from an Urban Legend. The Expensive Cookie Recipe. Conclusions and Business Implications. Implication for Online Community Business Strategies. Conclusion. Acknowledgments. References.
4. Computer Networks Linking Network Communities by Robin B. Hamman. Ambiguity in the Definition of Community. Community. Changing Demographics of Computer Network Users. Existing Research on the Social Impact of Computer-Mediated Communication. Existing Research on the Negative Social Impact of Computer-Mediated Communication. Changing Notions of Community. The Findings. Conclusion. Acknowledgments. References.
5. Reducing Demographic Bias by Miranda Mowbray. Introduction. Case Study. Data Collection. Participation of Community Members. Demographic Profiles for D, B, and N. Presenting Gender versus Real Gender. Frequency and Longevity of Presence in the MOO. Creative Powers. Object Creation. Two Examples. Action Creation. Blaster Use. Common Features of Nontraditional Groups. Qualitative Description of Group Behavior. Examples of Internet Bias. Conclusion: Suggestions for Reducing Demographic Bias in Online Communities. Suggestions from the Case Study. Suggestions from the Examples of Internet Bias. Acknowledgments. References.
II. EDUCATIONAL ONLINE COMMUNITIES.
6. Education, Communication, and Consumption: Piping in the Academic Community by Norman Clark. Laying the Pipe: The Rise of Campus Portals. Campus Portals to the Rescue? Campus Pipeline at ASU. Deconstructing the Pipe: Critical Analysis. Education. Communication. Community. Consumption. Draining the Pipe: Conclusions. References.
7. Building a Virtual University: Working Realities from the Virginia Tech Cyberschool by Timothy W. Luke. Basic Foundations. The Cyberschool Idea. Virginia Tech's IDDL. Building Online Communities for Education. Conclusions. References.
8. Outsourcing Education, Managing Knowledge, and Strengthening Academic Communities by Joanne Addison. A Brief Account of U.S. Distance Education. No HTML Required! (Or, a Prediction Falls Flat). Academic Communities and the Future of Distance Education. References.
9. Respecting the Virtual Subject, or How to Navigate the Private/Public Continuum by Maria Bakardjieva and Andrew Feenberg. The Private/Public Spectrum. How Private Is the Group? Privacy or Nonalienation? When Is Alienation Justified? Nonalienation As a Norm. References.
10. Community, Courseware, and Intellectual Property Law by Geoffrey Sauer. Changes in the Duration of Copyright in the United States. The 1976 Copyright Act. The Thor Power Tool Case, 1979. Imbalance of Powers: Corporate, Government, and Consumer. Alienated LaborOEven within the Star System. Commercial Publishing Influence in Web Courseware. Student Dissatisfaction with Traditional Teaching. Courseware Advantages. Alternatives: The English Server. Protection within Disciplines. Independent Course Materials. Conclusion: Public Intellectualism. References.
11. The Red Escolar Project Considered As an Online Community by Walter Aprile and Teresa Vazquez Mantec-n. A Brief Description of Red Escolar. Integration with Face-to-Face Education. Collaboration Projects. Learning Circles. The Digital Library. Teacher Training. Means of Interaction within Red Escolar. Email. Forums. Mailing Lists. Chat. Magazine, Phone Calls, Visits. Joining Red Escolar. Requisites. Getting In. The Red Escolar Community Environment. What Is a Red Escolar User? Authority. The User's Point of View. The Administrator's Point of View. Designing for Growth. Linux on the School Server. Lessons Learned.
12. The Free Universal Encyclopedia and Learning Resource by Richard Stallman. An Encyclopedia Located Everywhere. Who Will Write the Encyclopedia? Small Steps Will Do the Job. Take the Long View. Evangelize. What Should the Free Encyclopedia Contain? Criteria Pages Must Meet. Permit Universal Access. Permit Mirror Sites. Permit Translation into Other Languages. Permit Quotation with Attribution. Permit Modified Versions of Courses. Permit Modified Versions of Pictures and Videos, for Courses. Only Free Software in the Encyclopedia. No Central Control. Encourage Peer Review and Endorsements. No Catalogue, Yet. Making Links to Other Pages. Uphold the Freedom to Contribute. Spread the Word.
13. Afterword: Blood and Dreams in Cyberspace by Cary Nelson. III. ALTERNATIVE ONLINE COMMUNITIES.
14. What Kind of Platform for Change? Democracy, Community Work, and the Internet by Douglas Schuler. Elements of Democracy. Democracy and the Internet. Democratic Communication Technology in Seattle. Community Networks. Roles of Government and Community. Actions for the Future. References.
15. Oxfam GB Interviews: Experience and Thoughts about Online Communities edited by Julia Flynn. Building Blocks for Bringing About a True Exchange of Ideas between North/South Communities. The CHOGM Meeting Website. What We Learned. On the Line. A Good Way to Create a Community. Learning from One Office and Applying It to Other Situations. The Managua Office. Experiences in Other Offices. Some Issues: Language and Content. A Cultural Shift. The Managua Website: A Key Resource. Some Advice for NGOs.
16. The Rise and Persistence of the Technological Community Ideal by Randy Connolly. Previous Technological Enthusiasms. Canals. The Railway. The Telegraph. The Telephone. The Automobile. The Radio. Why These Hopes? Jeffersonian Republicanism. Conclusion. References.
17. Online Community Action: Perils and Possibilities by Luciano Paccagnella. What Are We Talking About? The Problematic Community. Networks of People. To Change the World, Begin with Yourself. The New Riches: Information or Codes? Hacking the System. The Perils and Possibilities of Online Community Action. References.
Index. 