He also speaks of virtual communities as "a group of people who may or may not meet one another face to face, and who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin boards and networks." (Rheingold, 1992, p 1).
The community thus consists of a number of people with regular contact with each other. It is not necessary that these individuals meet face-to-face but the members are related by shared interests, problems or ideas. Some virtual communities have their origin in existing organisations. In these cases the community form a complement to the regular business. The members have not decided on their membership; an employment in the company involve a membership in the virtual community. [Maria Valtersson, Umea (Sweden)]
Thanks and Have Fun! GK