One of the things that fascinates me most about online communities is its potential to be a macrocosm for a society at large. I am intrigued, for example, by the interests and friends list on journals and blogs. How would people know you exist if you had no interests? Who would find you if you had no friends? Yet that is exactly the way we view strangers on the street. We know nothing about he or she, and yet in our minds we have managed to fill in all the blanks.

I think it is the intrepid spirit to transverse the boundaries of the unknown, and reach out to a stranger whom we know nothing about, that forms the backbone of society. It’s not as simple as “you’ve added me to your friend’s list, so I’m going to add you.” OR “We have the same interests, we can be friends.” That’s not a society.

Last time I checked, that was called a clique.