This document discusses online communities, defining them as groups of people who primarily or initially communicate via the Internet. It outlines the benefits and drawbacks of online communities compared to traditional communities, and provides examples of different types of online communities including forums, social networking sites, virtual worlds, and wikis. The development of early online communities like Usenet and AOL chat rooms is described. Reasons people join online communities like seeking reciprocity, recognition and a sense of community are also summarized.
