Jones argues 'that we should first consider the virtual settlement within which virtual communities exist,' he defines a virtual settlement as 'a minimal number of public interactions with a variety of communicators in which there is a minimal level of sustained membership over a period of time.' Although Jones argue a strong point, for me it seems that Blanchard and Markus (2003) focus on the better understanding of a virtual community. They focus on the feelings - 'the sense of the community' and state that that is what is necessary.
I agree, with their argument for doesn't a virtual community start when users have the same interests? Once this is established, then the virtual settlement takes place. In addition, do the users have to interact with each other to be part of the virtual community? If so, and the 'postings, structure and content' don't exist, then is it not a community?
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