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February 02, 2007

Every happy community is the same

Actually, not every happy community is the same. And the unhappy ones are at least as diverse. So, it's good to read HorsePigCow's reminder that communities aren't always just a bunch of fluffy bunnies snuggling together. Sometimes what we're calling communities are in fact arguments, or conversations, or people who happen to like the same brand of orange juice.

It'd be good if we could have preserved the term "community" for actual communities, i.e., people who care about one another more than they have to. But it looks like that linguistic battle is over and done. Oh well. [Tags: communities horsepigcow tara_hunt everything_is_miscellaneous]

Posted by D. Weinberger at February 2, 2007 09:37 AM


Comments

"Community: Just a Word?"
http://blogs.britannica.com/blog/main/2006/11/just-a-word/

Posted by: rainmaker | February 2, 2007 12:55 PM


Community: "people who care about one another more than they have to"

and/or

people who care about one another because they have to more than they want to

Posted by: Jay Fienberg | February 2, 2007 03:09 PM


Rainmaker, thanks. This is a meme that's been around the block more than once. It's one reason why Cluetrain talks about conversations instead of communities. And it's why I referred to the HorsePigCow post as a "reminder." We need 'em. The Britannica post is another very good one.

Jay, very amusing. Thx.

Posted by: David Weinberger | February 2, 2007 04:49 PM


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