Editing Virtual community (section)

{{Short description|Social network of individuals who interact through specific social media}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Essay-like|article|date=March 2011}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
[[File:Biodiversity Heritage Library - Annual Meeting 2021 - Consortium Members.jpg|alt=An image of a virtual meeting held by a biodiversity community|thumb|A virtual meeting held by a biodiversity community]]

A '''virtual community''' is a [[social network]] of individuals who connect through specific [[social media]], potentially crossing geographical and political boundaries in order to pursue mutual interests or goals. Some of the most pervasive virtual communities are [[online community|online communities]] operating under [[social networking service]]s.

[[Howard Rheingold]] discussed virtual communities in his book, ''[[The Virtual Community (book)|The Virtual Community]]'', published in 1993. The book's discussion ranges from Rheingold's adventures on [[The WELL]], [[computer-mediated communication]], social groups and information science. Technologies cited include [[Usenet]], [[Multi-user dungeon|MUD]]s (Multi-User Dungeon) and their derivatives [[MUSH]]es and [[MOO]]s, [[Internet Relay Chat]] (IRC), [[chat room]]s and [[electronic mailing list]]s. Rheingold also points out the potential benefits for personal psychological well-being, as well as for society at large, of belonging to a virtual community. At the same time, it showed that job engagement positively influences virtual communities of practice engagement.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Haas|first1=Aurore|last2=Abonneau|first2=David|last3=Borzillo|first3=Stefano|last4=Guillaume|first4=Louis-Pierre|date=3 April 2021|title=Afraid of engagement? Towards an understanding of engagement in virtual communities of practice|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14778238.2020.1745704|journal=Knowledge Management Research & Practice|language=en|volume=19|issue=2|pages=169–180|doi=10.1080/14778238.2020.1745704|s2cid=216178181|issn=1477-8238|access-date=13 August 2022|archive-date=13 August 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813205432/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14778238.2020.1745704|url-status=live}}</ref>

Virtual communities all encourage interaction, sometimes focusing around a particular interest or just to communicate. Some virtual communities do both. Community members are allowed to interact over a shared passion through various means: [[Internet forum|message boards]], [[chat room]]s, [[social network]]ing World Wide Web sites, or virtual worlds.<ref>{{cite magazine|author=Hof, R. D.|author2=Browder, S.|author3=Elstrom, P.|date=5 May 1997|title=hacking Communities|magazine=Business Week}}</ref> Members usually become attached to the community world, logging in and out on sites all day every day, which can certainly become an addiction.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ridings|first1=Catherine M.|last2=Gefen|first2=David|date=23 June 2006|title=Virtual Community Attraction: Why People Hang Out Online|url=https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x|journal=Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication|volume=10|issue=1|pages=00|doi=10.1111/j.1083-6101.2004.tb00229.x|s2cid=21854835|issn=1083-6101|access-date=18 November 2022|archive-date=17 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230117173521/https://academic.oup.com/jcmc/article/10/1/JCMC10110/4614455|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref>