User:Marija42/sandbox

An online community (i.e. virtual community ) is an community in which groups of people or business partners interact witch each other to share information, conduct business, connect over and discuss mutual interests or play games. Their interactions are supported and mediated by media technologies." Community members develop their own governance and share cultural norms.

Online communities are a relatively new phenomenon which promotes a novel type of community that was unavailable prior to the internet and gained momentum with the rise of Web 2.0. Online communities may overlap and interconnect. For example, “individuals [may] belong to many communities, bounded to different extents and in varying ways.” These online communities depend on the voluntary time and effort put into them by their users. It depends on their participation, collaboration and contribution.

Characteristics
Main features of an online community according to Stefano Tardini and Lorenzo Cantoni are :
 * A shared communication environment
 * Interpersonal relationships that emerge and are maintained by means of online interaction
 * A sense of belonging to a group
 * And internal structure of the group
 * A symbolic common space represented by shared norms, values, and interests

Online communities can act as empty canvases allowing its members to utilize it in a variety of ways, as long as they follow the community’s etiquette. These sets of online values and social conventions are also known as netiquette. They are constantly changing and dependent on the particular community they belong to. For example, some communities may encourage harsher creative criticisms while other highly discourage this, while allowing only positive remarks.

Online communities may form around mutual issues, such as health problems, and create online support groups. Educational communities may help students in their studies, as well as connect them with their peers and professionals in the desired field of study. Fans of a certain interest, activity, or a person can come together to create an online community - fandom. Businesses may reach out to their customers to exchange information about their products or services. Other communities such as Wikipedia bring together people who are interested in sharing information, collaborative thinking, and the dissemination of knowledge.

There is a variety of ways in which members of a community can communicate; E-mails, forums, chat rooms, posts, discussion boards, social networking sites and multiple other platforms designed for various types of communication such as Skype and TeamSpeak.

Motivations for participation
Members of an online community develop a sense of connection through their participation and contribution. They may participate in order to experiment with online identities and express themselves in ways that are impossible for them in real life. Additionally, a member may contribute to the community to gain higher status within it. They also may participate for the sense of belonging to a community and being part of a larger whole.

Issues
Due to the novelty of online communities and the uncertainty regarding the rules and regulations surrounding them, a vast verity of legal as well as social issues may arise. Sharing of information in online communities sheds light on issues of copyright vs. freedom of information. Social issues connect to identity formation - how do people balance their online lives (identities) with their real world lives.

Due to the anonymity of some of the online communities, hence the lack of personal responsibilities for their conduct online, harassment and trolling is one of the most common issues.