Online communities are any group of people who communicate with each other via computers. Online communities are supported by listservs, bulletin boards, chats, MUDs, MOOS or combinations of these software programs along with web pages. Some communities are complex with highly integrated sites, others comprise just a single bulletin board or listserv, some support geographical communities, others are purely virtual, some have real concerns while others are fantasy worlds. There are a wide variety of communities focusing on many topics including health, religion, education, culture, community, sports, pets, children, old age, professional issues, games and so on. Thousands of online communities exist and more come online everyday. Two particularly big growth areas are communities for health problems and electronic commerce.

There is a debate among sociologists about what exactly constitutes an online community and how theory of geographical communities relates to cyberspace, but we take a very broad all-inclusive view of online communities. For us, even lurkers can be part of an online community.

Today, users from diverse cultural backgrounds, computer expertise, and interests turn to online communities to reach others. The communication needs of this new and diverse population of users are different from the factual exchange of information by the traditional computer users. Many new communities serve a strong social function as well. For example, a support community for people with chronic back pain has different needs than a community discussing the intricacies of Java programming. People in patient support communities not only want information about their condition, but may also seek empathy from their fellow sufferers.

Find out more information about the Workshop on Online Community Design, held in June 1999 as part of the University of Maryland College Park HCIL open house