What is an online virtual community?

The earliest definition of virtual community was made by Rheingole, who defined it as "a group of people who communicate with each other mainly through computer networks and who know each other to a certain extent. , share a certain degree of knowledge and information, and care for each other to a large extent like friends. "

Virtual communities have at least four characteristics: First, virtual communities use... Communication mediated by high-tech communication technologies such as computers and mobile phones exists, thereby excluding real communities; secondly, the interaction in virtual communities is group-based, thus excluding network services for pairwise interaction; thirdly, the identity of community members is fixed, This eliminates online public chat rooms composed of irregular groups of people; fourth, community members must be able to feel the presence of other members after entering the virtual community.

The types of virtual communities can be divided into two categories: synchronous and asynchronous based on the real-time nature of communication: synchronous virtual communities such as online games, and asynchronous communities such as BBS. The most important forms of virtual communities include BBS, USENET, and MUD. In China, a networked digital community form with BBS as the main form and combined with other synchronous and asynchronous information interaction technologies has gradually formed.

Community refers to human groups and their activity areas that carry out certain social activities, have certain interactive relationships and maintain the same culture. Virtual community, from the perspective of network technology, is also known as BBS (abbreviation of Buletin Board System) and forum. In 1978, at a computer conference in the Chicago area, Krison and Russ Lane hit it off, and the two often collaborated in various aspects. But the two people do not live together, and the phone can only communicate verbally. Some issues are difficult to express clearly in language. The winter storm in Chicago prevented them from seeing each other every day, so they used the newly launched modem to connect the two Apple IIs at home through telephone lines to create the world's first BBS. . This is the prototype of the original BBS. In recent years, with the rapid development of Internet technology, BBS's functions have been continuously expanded, and it has quickly become a virtual community for computer users around the world to exchange information. From a sociological perspective, it refers to a community with cultural identity and its activity venues formed by netizens’ frequent social interactions in electronic cyberspace.

It can be seen that virtual communities, like real communities, also include certain places, certain groups of people, corresponding organizations, community member participation, and some of the same interests, culture and other characteristics. The most important point is that, like real communities, virtual communities provide various means of exchanging information, such as discussion, communication, chat, etc., so that community residents can interact. But at the same time, it has its own unique properties.

First of all, the communication in the virtual community has the characteristics of time and space. Through the Internet, communication between people is not restricted by geography. As long as you have a computer and a phone line, you can speak freely with people anywhere in the world (and have corresponding hardware conditions). At this point, some people will say, do phones also have this function? However, chatting for an hour in a virtual community is one-thousandth of the economic cost of chatting for an hour on an international long distance. The pressure of chatting can be imagined. At the same time, it is not limited by time. If you post a post today, no one may respond, but it may be on the top ten in a few days. This kind of convenience is probably beyond the reach of the telephone!

Secondly, interpersonal interaction is anonymous and completely symbolic. In virtual communities, netizens identify themselves with an ID number. The ID number is determined randomly according to personal preference. For example, "hard drive", at first glance, indicates a computer hardware enthusiast, "red leaves fluttering", probably a person with good taste, "submarine", probably a military enthusiast... It is impossible for anyone to give such a name in reality. At the same time, because each other cannot see each other's "true face". Therefore, traditional gender, age, appearance, etc. can be changed at will in the virtual community. There is a famous saying on the Internet: The person you are chatting with may be a dog.

Thirdly, interpersonal relationships are relatively loose and community groups move frequently. The vitality of the community mainly depends on "popularity" and click-through rate. What attracts these is mainly to see whether the theme of the community is suitable for public taste. The former one is easy to understand. On the Jiaotong University BBS, generally "second-hand market", "work-study", "Magpie Bridge version", "movies" and "games" are more popular, because these are in line with the needs of college students who "have no money" and want to make friends. emptiness" characteristics. In comparison, "database", "mathematics" and other technical versions are "empty".

Finally, freedom, equality, democracy, autonomy and enjoyment are the basic principles of virtual communities. This feature is actually related to the anonymity of interpersonal interactions. Here, the traditional superiors and subordinates are replaced by "bamboo". As long as you do not violate the forum regulations, you can say anything, which is commonly known as "spoiling."

To become a member of a virtual community, the "threshold is very low." Generally speaking, if you want to use the functional services provided by the community, you must register online. The basic process is that first, the registrant reads the relevant laws and regulations of the Internet and the community service terms, and submits a consent application; the community management system asks the registrant some information, such as name, gender, age, ID number, occupation, etc. The registrant must fill it out truthfully and the system can verify it. Then pick up an account name and set a password, and the entire registration process is basically completed. Once registered successfully, you become a legal resident of the community. A community resident has a unique account, which is his pass in the virtual community and the only sign for community residents to identify each other. To "live" in the community, residents must abide by the community's rules, regulations and codes of conduct, otherwise they will be expelled by the community administrator or blocked from posting!

The community (mainly BBS) mainly provides the following functions:

1 Community communication. The community provides an e-mail box for every resident. Residents can use the mailbox to send and receive emails and communicate with each other, which is conducive to communication among residents when they are not online at the same time. Some large forums provide the function of sending text messages to mobile phones, which makes communication between netizens more convenient. Of course it’s not free, the other party usually “pays the bill”.

2 Chat service. The virtual community provides residents with two real-time interactive chat services. In addition to using text expressions when chatting, the system also presets a rich set of expressions and actions for calling (some can also use voice for real-time conversation). The first way is the chat square, where anyone can come and go freely, and the content of the conversation is not restricted. The second method is a chat room. The person who opens the chat room is the owner of the room. He can control the content of the conversation and choose who can chat. I heard that there are many online romances happening here. The touching love story of the recently popular online novel "Ruffian Cai and Qingwu Feiyang" took place in a chat room.

3 Post a discussion. This is one of the most basic and important functions of virtual communities. Residents can freely express their thoughts in the community mainly in the form of text, such as making suggestions, discussions, asking questions, answering questions, etc., which ultimately appear in the form of posted articles (posts). Residents can also repost their favorite novels, essays, etc. in the community. At present, many community systems in China already allow residents to add functions such as file uploads, stickers, and emoticons to their posts. In this way, the post becomes colorful and lively. Make communication among residents more effective. The "Northwestern University Japanese Students Incident" some time ago was mainly initiated through BBS. The demonstration movement was also provoked by posting comments on the Northwest University forum and the "Terracotta Warriors" of Jiaotong University. It can be seen that BBS has a great influence on the university!

4 Voting residents initiate a vote or conduct a vote on a certain issue in the community, thereby conducting a public opinion survey on community residents. At the same time, residents also posted discussions to express their views during the voting process. This kind of voting is more transparent, democratic and open than actual voting. The results also truly reflect the preferences of netizens.

Currently, there are three main categories of influential virtual communities in China: The first category is suitable for the general public and focuses on hobbies, leisure and entertainment, such as NetEase Community and Tianya Community distributed in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. , Zhanjiang’s blue sea and silver sand, etc.; the second type is suitable for college students, focusing on study and life on university campuses, such as Tsinghua’s “Shuimu Tsinghua” community, Peking University’s “Mess” community, Jiaotong University’s “Terracotta Warriors” community, etc.; this Both types of communities are relatively large, with hundreds of thousands or even millions of members, and usually several thousand people online, and they have a certain influence in the country. The third category is various educational websites, online schools, and educational communities for teachers and middle school students. These communities are relatively small in size and have not many members. All this shows that the domestic virtual community has a certain influence and scale, and it is not only possible but also necessary to apply it to online teaching. However, the current application is in its infancy, and there is broad room for research and development.

Virtual communities and real communities are not completely independent. The relationship between them is the same as the relationship between matter and consciousness. The origin of online communities and real communities, virtual communities are the "projection" of real space in virtual space. First of all, the service sections provided by the virtual community are also set according to people's actual needs; the lifestyle and concepts in the real community have a normative impact on the construction of the virtual community. Secondly, the services provided by the virtual community are an extension and improvement of the services of the real community. The traditional letter delivery using paper as a medium has developed into email delivery. Although the medium and speed of the two are different, the email content format is still the same as the traditional letter format. Virtual communities cannot exist apart from reality.

At the same time, the impact and reaction of online communities on real communities. A series of characteristics such as openness and transparency on the Internet and emphasis on individuals will profoundly affect society. We should see that democracy is not a slogan, but a way of life and attitude towards life, and many ideas and methods in online communities can be used to correct certain defects in real social management and systems. It is easy for the people to express their opinions, and it is also easy for the government to implement low-cost and efficient management. The reason why the Internet is popular is that it provides a paradise of freedom, in which different opinions in the community respect each other and are not mutually exclusive. Solve problems and eliminate differences through discussion and debate. Online communities give everyone full voice. Many governments have opened online mailboxes or have leaders answer citizens' questions online, which has achieved good results.

In short, online communities and real communities have a complementary and interactive relationship and are fundamentally consistent. The two should each draw on their own strengths and complement each other. Online communities make possible what is impossible in real communities. Online community spaces open up people's minds. From the perspective of network members, the so-called reality is nothing more than a development from a previous possibility. The two are complementary rather than replacing each other. The online community is an impact on the existing lifestyle. At the same time, it is also the development of the real social space.

Everything has advantages and benefits. Online communities also have their own limitations. First of all, although online communities allow people to gain freedom and relaxation that cannot be obtained in real society, the current cost of using online communities is still quite high. Due to the unbalanced development of technology in our country, those who use the Internet are actually the class with high cultural quality, high income, and the most social influence, resulting in de facto inequality in the online community. Secondly, in the process of copying real society, online communities will delete or exaggerate (intentionally or unintentionally) some details, causing distortion and confusion in the development of online communities. In particular, the current management of online communities is basically based on individual conscience and morality. Without effective legal means, the problem of anomie in online communities is quite prominent. Once again, interpersonal relationships in online communities appear to be relatively fragile. By using code names to hide part of their identity, each member of the online community can freely choose his or her identity, stance, and communication method, all with clear confidentiality. Finally, if netizens are addicted to the virtual world of online communities and regard online communities as the reality of life and a haven to escape reality, they will naturally become indifferent or ignore real interpersonal relationships, causing a gap between netizens and reality, and adversely affecting their social survival. .

A common mistake that members of online communities make is to confuse ideals with reality. The strong contrast makes them full of disappointment, misunderstanding, anger, disharmony, frustration, and even a bit of sadness and depression. If people can be "addicted to the Internet" forever without returning to the real society, then nothing will happen. But things are not that simple. People are always products of reality, and they will eventually return to reality and turn off the computer. , open the curtains, and there is still a lot of traffic outside. You are not the "prawn" with all kinds of charms on the Internet, but you must go to the market immediately to buy spinach and pork for lunch. So we have to look at virtual communities correctly.