Virtual communities and their network support: A cybernetic analysis

The Internet supports many virtual communities, and it is arguable that its support for communities is its greatest success. All virtual communities d epend on their network for communication and any shortcomings in the networ k, especially shortcomings relative to the natural communication that takes place in real-world communities, will affect the community supported by th e network. An analysis of the relationship between the supporting network a nd the supported community is presented. The analysis is cybernetic in that it is expressed in terms of cybernetic concepts, including self-organizati on, requisite variety, and social systems as collections of thinking partic ipants. The results of the analysis show how network behavior affects the c ommunity and its culture in general, as well as in some specific ways.