The following resources were given in the instruction for this report.  The sites provide a wide range of information relating to virtual communities.  Descriptions of various online communities are included within the sites.  The sites are a good reference source for any one who is thinking about becoming a member of any online community.  I highly suggest that you click on any of this sites and explore the different links.  You might be amazed with what you find.  Hope you have fun.

   1.  http://rdz.stjohns.edu/~storm/
   2.  http://www.behavior.net/mhn/bolforum/message/32
   3.  http://www.shassan.com/
   4.  http://www.grohol.com/
   5.  http://www.netaxs.com/~jamesiii/papers.htm
 

Amazon city cafe is a growing online community where women of all ages and ethnic backgrounds come together for intelligent and thought provoking conversations.

I recommend the Amazon city cafe because it is a gathering of dynamic women from all over the world who discuss a handful of interesting topics.  It is a place where women can express their thoughts and feelings openly.  This is a good site for women who feel discouraged to openly express their opinions in a face to face interactions.

2.   http://www.cyberkids.com/

Cyberkids is an online community designed for young individuals.  The site provides links to cool games and activities that children of all ages will enjoy exploring.  There are also adventure and mysterious stories that children can get involved in and help solve the mystery.  Pen pal services and teenage advice are also included in this site.

I recommend this site because of the services it offers to young individuals.  It is an excellent source of entertainment for children who enjoy working on computers.

Family village is a web site that provides information, resources, and communication opportunities on the Internet for persons with disabilities as well as their family members.  This site is very informative.  It provides listing of agencies that you can call if you need financial assistance in supporting a child with disabilities.  It provides links to assistive technology agencies.  It also has links to journal articles and medical prognosis and diagnosis of certain disabilities.

I recommend this site because of the information it provides on various disabilities.  It can also serve as a resource for students doing research on disabilities.

Virtual online communities are places where people come together to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about a particular issue. It is another medium in which people come together and interact with one another. In virtual online communities people communicate through computer mediated communication (CMC) via e-mail, chat rooms, forums, newsgroups and the like. Virtual online communities is made possible through the advancement of computer technology and the invention of the Internet.  The Internet allows for the development of virtual communities which made possible the creation of cyber space communities in which people can have discussions with one another without being physically present or geographically in the same region.

Different online communities have different purposes. The purpose of online community can be as general as bringing users together for a casual discussion on a topic of interest, or it can be as specific as answering a business need, such as a product support or customer service.

People create online communities for the purposes of entertainment, research, politics, and advertisement of products to name a few. Although majority of online communities are created for profits, there are some online communities with other goals and intents such as helping people with health or other problems.  The basic purpose of online communities is to share information with people on the Internet.
 

People create online communities because they want to promote and share something that is of interest to them and possibly to other people.  Investors create online communities to advertise their products in hopes of attracting a larger pool of audience to use or buy their products.  The advent of the Internet has enable a medium of communication that was not possible before.  With online communities people can attract and interact with people from different regions of the world.  The destination of advertisement is not limited to a single region but rather to any person any where in the world who has access to the Internet.

Virtual communities work by attracting people to become members. Members of virtual communities share information and ideas about current events or other interesting issues. The goal of virtual communities are to attract people to become members and then try to keep those members by organizing the community to something in which people feel comfortable in and have an interest in.
 
In virtual communities there are conferences on topics of interest to the members.  Each conference is moderated by a host.  The purpose of the conference host is to help guide the discussion by providing new topics to discuss.  The host's job may included keeping the discussion useful, on track, and flame free as much as possible.
 

The more participants and visitors that a virtual community receives, the better chances it has of acquiring new members. Virtual online communities spread by advertisement of interesting topics, themes, and issues that people will find attractive and interesting and thus, want to explore such topics by visiting the site and seeing what it has to offer them.

Virtual communities also spread by linking to other popular sites that are often visited by people on the Internet. Having links to another site increases the chance that people will visit your online community because they would be curious about what your site has to offer. The more accessible your online community site is to the audience who use the Internet, the more likely your community will grow and expand.

Another way in which virtual communities spread is by members encouraging friends, colleagues, and family members to join the online community. Online communities can also spread via online surveys, contests, parties and meetings. For a virtual community to grow, it must be willing to facilitate the growth of the community by setting rules which will help make the community grow.
 

There are many different types of virtual online communities. There are online chat rooms, newsgroups, shopping malls, and many more. There are two types of communication medium in online communities: real time and non- real time. Real time is when people interact as if they were face to face. They simultaneously communicate with each other without much delay in receiving the message or responding back. Non real time takes the form of posting. People type a message and then post it up for other members to read and to which they could respond if they chose to. It could take a few hours to a few days until someone responds to your posting. However, in both modality of interactions the topic of discussion would be of interest to the participants to encourage the continued exchange and sharing of information.

Cafe' Utne  is a virtual community that was created by Eric Utne in 1995.  Eric asked readers of the Utne magazine if they would like a face-to-face salon where they could discuss about cultural and political issues.  The discussion went online in 1995.  As of fall 1997, there are approximately 43,000 registered members.

The goal of the Cafe' Utne is to revive the lost ar of conversation.  Thus, great emphasis is placed in expressing opinions in a courteous manner.  Cafe' Utne encourages respectful conversation without flames or personal attacks.

Cafe' Utne runs on Motet software and it is administered by one part-time staff and a conferencing coordinator.
 
 

I don't think that I would want to become a member of any online community.  Currently, I don't have much time to devote to being a member of a virtual community.  I feel that if I were to become a member then I must be able to devote some of my time and become an active rather than a passive member.  Maybe if I have more time to spare then I will probably explore various virtual communities to see what they have to offer.

Another reason why I chose not to be a member of a virtual community is because I prefer face-to-face interactions.  In order for me to establish any relationship with anyone I must atleast see them in person.  Although with virtual communities I could have intense discussions with other people, I honestly prefer to interact with people face to face.  The discussion will be more meaningful if it was face to face rather than through the Internet.
 

The significance of the existence of virtual communities is that they open up opportunities for interactions between individuals that would not have been otherwise possible. In a virtual community you can interact with a person from Japan that you would not have otherwise interacted with without the existence of virtual communities. Virtual communities provides a medium in which people can share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about certain topics without having a face to face conversation.  It provides a gathering place in which people can get together for a social interaction without leaving the comfort of your home.

Virtual online communities have also created a phenomenon of cyber culture.  A culture with its own unique characteristics and rules that governed its establishment and continued existence.  It is similar to face-face communities in that there are rules that governed the interactions.  Virtual communities like face-to-face communities needs members to define its purpose and to keep the interaction going on.  Virtual communities functions in the same way as face to face communities in that it allows for the interactions between people.  People come together to share their thoughts and feelings.  If you are not interested in the discussion then you can choose not to participate, just like in face to face communities where you can choose the group of people you interact with.  There could probably be an evolution in cyberspace of virtual communities.  Computer technology is undergoing profound changes that introduces  new concepts and possibilities that were once never heard of.  With the increasing possibilities of computer technology anything can happen.  Technology has open the door to endless possibilities of invention and creation.
 

A.  David Chang wrote about virtual community.  He defines an online community as any site or group of sites that have a regular group of visitors who are able to interact with each other via live chat, bulletin boards, or e-mail.  David is a member of several online communities.  He views this class as a virtual community because he collects data from past generations and we have class discussions via e-mail.

I do agree with David's definition of virtual communities.  Our reports were similar in content.  Unlike David, I am not a member of any online community except for this class.  I also have to agree with David that this class is somewhat like an online community.  My definition of online communities are places where people come together to share their thoughts, feelings, and opinions about a particular topic.  Thus, our e-mail discussions can be a form of a virtual community because we all come together to discuss issues pertaining to the class materials.
 

B.  Brandon Lee  Brandon defines virtual communities as groups of people interacting with each other using the Internet as the channel of communication.  Brandon's personal definition of community involves the interaction of  people who have spoken to each other already.  He feels that security in the community involves familiar names and faces which virtual communities lack.

I agree with Brandon's definition of virtual communities in regards to people interacting with each other using the Internet.  Computers have made possible the creation of virtual communities.  Without the communication possibilities offered by computers, we would not be able to have discussions with other people over the Internet.  Thus, computers area vital tool in the creation and survival of online communities.

I think that people can have a sense of security in a virtual community.  Indeed, you don't get to see the other person face to face or know their identity but you can have security in that you can remain anonymous or withdraw your membership from an online community if you feel uncomfortable or threaten.  In face to face communities, the luxury of being anonymous is unheard of.  There is a way to find the true identity of the person.  Issues of security in face to face communities are of concern.  There are episodes in which someone invades your home.  Sometimes people you know well can be threat to your sense of security.  Crimes that have been committed usually involve the victim knowing the attacker.  Thus, I don't really agree with Brandon's view on security and community.

None of my peers did a report on online communities, but through class discussions I would say that we all seem to have a general understanding of the meaning of online communities.  Although our reports differ in topic they are all somehow related to online communities.  As a class we have our own online community in which we discuss various topics relating to the course materials.

I thought that the reports done by my peers were excellent.  They followed instructions for the report.  Most of the reports are neatly organized and easy to read.  The presentation of some of the report were beautifully and creatively put together.  Such an example is the report of  Cynthia J'anthony.
 
 

This document could be used for studying the psychology of music and driving in that some of links I have in this reports contain information pertaining to music and driving.  Also, by participating in a music or driving online community one can have the opportunity to discuss issues relating to music and driving.  There are different online communities out there and each community have different interest and purpose. With online communities you can explore a wider range of topics and discussions pertaining to music and driving.