> "That would be like saying that the only important part of sex is the exchanging of fluids."
It strikes me as like saying the important parts of sex are the physical sensations and emotional connection (regardless of where the fluids end up.) It's dead on.
I have a strong family and a strong community, but much of it is online. I met my wife on the internet (in 1998, on a website devoted to our favorite video game); another friend from the same website was a groomsman at our wedding; we named our son after the website's founder. Members of our online community have organized prayer groups, attended weddings and funerals of other members, and helped each other in times of physical, emotional, or financial crisis. I personally have met with people from our community in Chicago, Vancouver, Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Colorado Springs, Provo, and at a hog farm near Medford, Oregon.
The important part of community is not that we can walk over to each others' houses. It's that we can share with each other, help each other, take joy in each others successes, give comfort in failure or tragedy, learn from each other, and treat one another as friends.
Not every website can live up to this standard of "community". But mine has for the last twelve years.
It strikes me as like saying the important parts of sex are the physical sensations and emotional connection (regardless of where the fluids end up.) It's dead on.
I have a strong family and a strong community, but much of it is online. I met my wife on the internet (in 1998, on a website devoted to our favorite video game); another friend from the same website was a groomsman at our wedding; we named our son after the website's founder. Members of our online community have organized prayer groups, attended weddings and funerals of other members, and helped each other in times of physical, emotional, or financial crisis. I personally have met with people from our community in Chicago, Vancouver, Kansas City, Seattle, Denver, Colorado Springs, Provo, and at a hog farm near Medford, Oregon.
The important part of community is not that we can walk over to each others' houses. It's that we can share with each other, help each other, take joy in each others successes, give comfort in failure or tragedy, learn from each other, and treat one another as friends.
Not every website can live up to this standard of "community". But mine has for the last twelve years.