An online community is a community that interacts over time around a topic of interest
on the Internet.
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These interactions can take place in various forms, including online message boards and discussion groups, blogs, as well as corporate and nonprofit Web sites.
Research indicates that online communities exist for many participants and that there is
often a sense of community online, which moves beyond mere interactions to include
an affective or emotional attachment to the online group. Studies have found ongoing
communications among subsets of these interest groups. In addition, the patterns of communication indicate a group structure, with the more experienced members serving as
experts and leaders and the newer members seeking advice and information. These groups
develop unique vocabularies, netiquette, and means for dealing with behaviors deemed
inappropriate.